Pakistan Tuesday told a gathering of diplomats and rights advocates at the U.N. that the right of self-determination will not be fulfilled until all peoples who are under foreign occupation or settler-colonialism, especially Palestine and Kashmir, are able to exercise that right.
“The right of self-determination is bedrock of the modern international system,” Ambassador Munir Akram said, warning that historically a colonial power has never succeeded in suppressing the right of self-determination of a determined people. Ambassador Akram was speaking at a largely-attended event, which was sponsored by Pakistan, in connection with Kashmir Solidarity Day.
The topic of discussion was “Challenges to the realization of the Right to Self-Determination in the Contemporary Global Context”, with speakers from all regions of the world upholding that inalienable right pf peoples struggling for freedom.
“We are confident that the Palestinians, the Kashmiris and other oppressed people will ultimately secure their right to self-determination and freedom as most of us have done through the process of decolonization,” the Pakistani envoy said. Panelists at the Self-determination event were: Ms. Fionnuala NiAolain, a professor at the University of Minnesota and former UN rights expert; Ambassador Maged Abdelaziz, permanent observer of the Arab League at the UN: Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Chairman of the World Forum for Peace and Justice, and Hameed Ajibaiye, permanent observer for OIC at the UN.
After the presentations from the panelists, ambassadors and representatives of Algeria, Turkey, Morocco, Syria, Iran, Venezuela, Eritrea and India participated in the general discussion in which they also raised issues of concern to them.
Ambassador Akram, who opened the debate, highlighted the decades-old Kashmir and Palestine conflicts, warning that these unresolved issues posed a threat to international peace and security. Noting that the right of self-determination was the fundamental principle of the UN Charter, he said there were still examples of where peoples continue to be denied the right of self-determination.
“I will focus on the fact that we face two situations at least, where the right of self-determination is being flagrantly denied:
“One is Palestine and the second is Jammu and Kashmir in the past four months have illustrated the consequences of the suppression of the right of self-determination to the Palestinian people — 27,000 And counting have been killed mostly women and children,” the Pakistani envoy added.
Despite ICJ ruling and the decisions of the General Assembly, the near unanimity in the Security Council and the support of the international community in public opinion the acceptance of a ceasefire still eludes the international community. he Pakistani envoy denounced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for summarily rejecting the two state solution to resolve the Middle East crisis, and even agreeing to a halt what has been called the plausible genocide campaign in Gaza.
“We admire South Africa’s reference to the ICJ and we commend Algeria’s initiative in the Security Council to get a ceasefire,” he added. Regardless of whether or not these were endorsed by the Security Council, he said, under the Charter, they were binding to secure a two state solution.
Likewise, Ambassador Akram said the denial of self-determination to the people of Jammu and Kashmir also deserved the full attention of the international community, pointing out that massive violations of human rights were taking place there. “And the dispute over Jammu and Kashmir between India and Pakistan is an ever-present threat to international peace and security,” he added.
The Pakistani envoy warned that the threat of a conflict which has happened in the past, could happen again. “A conflict between two nuclear-armed states is a sobering thought or should be a sobering thought for the international community,” he added. On Monday, he said, the people of Jammu and Kashmir and the people of Pakistan observed the Kashmir Solidarity Day, pointing out that on 5the February, 1989, 100 peaceful Kashmiri demonstrators were killed by Indian occupation forces. “This is recorded in two reports of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights issued in 2017 and 2018”, he added.
The Kashmir tragedy, he said, had intensified after the unilateral measures taken on August 5, 2019 that ended the statehood of Kashmir with India using brutal measures to clamp down on the unrest in besieged Kashmir. “With regard to both the situations in Palestine and Kashmir, and I suspect elsewhere, where peoples are oppressed and occupied, a lesson of history has been that colonial power has never succeeded in suppressing the right of self-determination of a people who are determined to sacrifice all for their freedom and liberation from foreign occupation,” he added. In his remarks, Hameed Ajibaiye, permanent observer for OIC at the UN, said that the organization always firmly supported the legitimate struggle of the Palestinian and Kashmiri people for the realization of their inalienable right to self-determination.
“The question of right to self-determination of the people in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir has always been on the agenda of Jammu and Kashmir since its inception,” he said. Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai said that the denial of the Kashmiri people had brought India and Pakistan to the brink of a nuclear catastrophe.
While the applicability of the right of self-determination was recognized by the UN, he said it was also upheld by India and Pakistan when the Kashmir dispute was brought before the UN Security Council. “It is binding on both governments — and no allegation of non-performance of any of its provisions by either side can render it inoperative,” Dr. Fai added. He highlighted the deteriorating situation in Indian occupied Kashmir, especially after August 5, 2019, and said the framework provided by the UNSC resolutions was the only criterion to resolve the longstanding Jammu and Kashmir dispute.
Ambassador Maged Abdelaziz, permanent observer of the Arab League at the UN, said that the Palestinian question was central to the league’s member States. He said that the attacks on October 7 were not the beginning of the conflict and did not occur in a vacuum. Despite Gaza proving to be the bloodiest conflict in recent history, there was still no ceasefire, he said, adding that no peace process could succeed without cessation of hostilities. The Turkish delegate reaffirmed her country’s support to Kashmiris in their struggle for self-determination
“According to the international convention and the UN Security Council resolutions, no unilateral steps should be taken to alter the situation. Yet the issue became all the more complicated after India’s unilateral decision to revoke Article 370.” The Turkish diplomat also highlighted the need for the “preservation of ethnic and demographic structure of the region” as “a key element of the resolution of this (IIJK) long-standing issue.” Ms. NiAolain, a former UN rights expert, termed self-determination as a gateway for the fulfillment of all other rights.
“Self-determination is bed-rock of international system and essential for human development,” she said. The participants also heard a diatribe against Pakistan from the Indian delegate, Suman Sonkar, who stuck up the same old tune that Kashmir was an integral part of India and accusing Pakistan of involvement in terrorism while questioning its record on minorities’ rights.
Ambassador Akram hit back, saying the Indian delegate comments were out the framework of the discussion, while rejecting her allegations. He also pointed out the “communality” of India’s position with that of Israel– both countries denying the right of self-determination to the people of Kashmir and Palestine, respectively. Dr. Fai, who hails from Indian occupied Kashmir, also called the Indian delegate’s remarks irrelevant and misleading. What is relevant are the UN Security Council resolutions calling for a plebiscite in Kashmir and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ statement of Aug. 8, 2019, he said. The UN chief then said, “The position of the United Nations on this region (Jammu and Kashmir) is governed by the Charter of the United Nations and applicable Security Council resolutions.”
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