Pakistan’s resolution to the United Nations asserting the right of peoples to self-determination was unanimously accepted.

UNITED NATIONS – A senior committee of the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly endorsed a resolution reiterating the right to self-determination for peoples subjected to colonial, foreign, and alien occupation on Thursday, with Pakistan describing it as a “cardinal value” of the UN.

The resolution, proposed by Pakistan, was co-sponsored by 73 nations and passed without a vote in the 193-member Assembly’s Third Committee, which deals with social, humanitarian, and cultural matters.

The resolution, which Pakistan has sponsored since 1981, strives to draw attention to peoples throughout the world who are still fighting for their intrinsic right to self-determination, such as those in Kashmir and Palestine. It is anticipated to be voted on by the General Assembly next month.

Munir Akram, Pakistan’s permanent representative to the United Nations, introduced the proposal by saying that the General Assembly has not only defined the breadth of the right to self-determination, but also the techniques and processes for realising it. As a result, it served as the foundation for all human rights and international law.

“Today, self-determination has been solidified as a peremptory norm of international law,” he stated, adding that “the international community is committed to realise this right for all peoples suffering subjection, alien rule, and foreign occupation.”

“Almost all former colonies and oppressed peoples, who are represented in this Assembly today as sovereign states, achieved freedom by exercising their right to self-determination,” Ambassador Akram remarked.

“Free and fair referendums, or plebiscites held under the auspices of the United Nations, were frequently used to achieve this.” There are, however, circumstances where occupied peoples are consistently denied this right and are forced to battle for its fulfilment,” he explained.

“Naked military force, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, rape and sexual violence, curfews, communication blackouts, lockdown of civilian populations, illegal settlements, and demographic changes are often used by occupying powers to suppress legitimate struggles for self-determination,” the Pakistani envoy said.

“These measures are among the most egregious abuses of Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, as well as basic human rights enshrined in the main human rights agreements.” The right to self-determination is being suppressed, subverted, and delayed as a result of these illegal activities.”

The General Assembly would reaffirm the universal fulfilment of all peoples’ rights to self-determination, including those under colonial, foreign, and alien dominance, as a basic requirement for the effective guarantee and observance of human rights, under the wording of the proposed resolution.

The resolution also stated the General Assembly’s unequivocal opposition to foreign military intervention and aggression, which have resulted in the repression of peoples’ right to self-determination and other human rights in several regions of the globe.

It demanded that individuals responsible for military involvement and occupation of foreign countries and territories, as well as any acts of repression, discrimination, and exploitation, halt immediately.

The Assembly further laments the suffering of millions of refugees and displaced people who have been uprooted as a result of these crimes, and affirms their right to return to their homes in safety and security.

It calls on the Human Rights Council to pay special attention to human rights violations caused by foreign military intervention, invasion, or occupation, particularly the right to self-determination. It further urges that the Secretary-General provide a report on this matter to the General Assembly’s next session.