ISLAMABAD: Pakistan stepped up lobbying as it vies for a seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), reported state media on Wednesday, with the General Assembly set to meet tomorrow, on June 6, to elect five non-permanent members to the world body’s most significant and powerful institution.
The UNSC comprises 15 countries, five of which are permanent members with veto-wielding authority, including China, France, Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom. The council’s primary responsibility is the maintenance of international peace and security.
Pakistan’s previous terms as a non-permanent member arrived in 2012-13, 2003-04, 1993-94, 1983-84, 1976-77, 1968-69 and 1952-53.
“The UNGA is set to meet on Thursday to elect five non-permanent members of the Security Council,” the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) said on Wednesday. “Pakistan and other candidates have stepped up their lobbying activities for a seat.”
The report said the Asian seat was being vacated by Japan this year, adding the countries elected now would serve for two years from Jan 1, 2025, through the end of 2026. Other outgoing countries include Ecuador, Malta, Mozambique and Switzerland whose terms end on December 31, 2024.
The APP said the seven-term candidate Pakistan was likely to get elected unopposed following endorsement by the 53-member Asian group.
“If elected, Pakistan will devote its efforts to promoting the maintenance of international peace and security and the peaceful resolution of conflicts and disputes per the principles and purposes of the UN Charter,” the news agency quoted Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Munir Akram, as saying.
The voting for the non-permanent members is conducted by a secret ballot and candidates need to receive a two-third majority, or 128 votes, even if they run uncontested. Re-polls are conducted if the required number of polls are not secured by a country.
In the same contest, Somalia and Mauritius are candidates for the African seat, while Denmark and Greece are contesting for the Western European seat.
Panama is the sole candidate for the Latin American seat.
Pakistan’s diplomatic push for UNSC seat gains momentum ahead of tomorrow’s General Assembly meeting
https://arab.news/ptwzm
Pakistan’s diplomatic push for UNSC seat gains momentum ahead of tomorrow’s General Assembly meeting
- Ambassador Munir Akram says the South Asian state will devote its efforts to world peace and security if elected
- Pakistan is striving for the non-permanent Asian seat and has received endorsements from the 53-member group
UN torture expert decries Pakistan ex-PM Khan’s detention
- Khan’s party alleges government is holding him in solitary confinement, barring prison visits
- Pakistan’s government rejects allegations former premier is being denied basic rights in prison
GENEVA: Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan is being held in conditions that could amount to torture and other inhuman or degrading treatment, the United Nations’ special rapporteur on torture warned Friday.
Alice Jill Edwards urged Pakistan to take immediate and effective action to address reports of the 73-year-old’s inhumane and undignified detention conditions.
“I call on Pakistani authorities to ensure that Khan’s conditions of detention fully comply with international norms and standards,” Edwards said in a statement.
“Since his transfer to Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on September 26, 2023, Imran Khan has reportedly been held for excessive periods in solitary confinement, confined for 23 hours a day in his cell, and with highly restricted access to the outside world,” she said.
“His cell is reportedly under constant camera surveillance.”
Khan an all-rounder who captained Pakistan to victory in the 1992 Cricket World Cup, upended Pakistani politics by becoming the prime minister in 2018.
Edwards said prolonged or indefinite solitary confinement is prohibited under international human rights law and constitutes a form of psychological torture when it lasts longer than 15 days.
“Khan’s solitary confinement should be lifted without delay. Not only is it an unlawful measure, extended isolation can bring about very harmful consequences for his physical and mental health,” she said.
UN special rapporteurs are independent experts mandated by the Human Rights Council. They do not, therefore, speak for the United Nations itself.
Initially a strong backer of the country’s powerful military leadership, Khan was ousted in a no-confidence vote in 2022, and has since been jailed on a slew of corruption charges that he denies.
He has accused the military of orchestrating his downfall and pursuing his Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party and its allies.
Khan’s supporters say he is being denied prison visits from lawyers and family after a fiery social media post this month accusing army leader Field Marshal Asim Munir of persecuting him.
According to information Edwards has received, visits from Khan’s lawyers and relatives are frequently interrupted or ended prematurely, while he is held in a small cell lacking natural light and adequate ventilation.
“Anyone deprived of liberty must be treated with humanity and dignity,” the UN expert said.
“Detention conditions must reflect the individual’s age and health situation, including appropriate sleeping arrangements, climatic protection, adequate space, lighting, heating, and ventilation.”
Edwards has raised Khan’s situation with the Pakistani government.
