August 16 Meeting Of UNSC Was A Significant Development: Dr. Maleeha Lodhi,Pakistan's Former Ambassador

August 16 meeting of UNSC was a significant development: Dr. Maleeha Lodhi,Pakistan's former Ambassador

Reform of the UN is essential to restore public faith in the world body asconfidence in it has been waning across the world

Islamabad (Pakistan Point News / Online - 04th December, 2019) Reform of the UN is essential to restore public faith in the world body asconfidence in it has been waning across the world. This was stated by Dr. Maleeha Lodhi,Pakistan's former Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN in a public lecture at theInstitute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI) on Pakistan and the UN: Challenges andOpportunities of Multilateralism.Detailing Pakistan's diplomatic efforts at the UN to highlight the issue of occupied Kashmir, shesaid while the August 16 meeting of the Security Council was a significant development, theinability of the UN to implement its own resolutions on the dispute has long been a source ofgreat disappointment in Pakistan.

The non-implementation of not one, but eleven Security Councilresolutions on occupied Kashmir has obviously shaped public perceptions about the utility of theUnited Nations.This, she said, is happening at a time when multilateralism is facing new threatsand challenges and has been in retreat as a result of major powers rejecting or renouncing treatiesor walking out of international bodies.The former Pakistani envoy said whatever its drawbacks, multilateralism is needed more thanever especially when a rules-based international system is under assault.

An important way tostrengthen multilateralism would be to strengthen the role of UN. But, she added, this objectivecan best be achieved by a comprehensive reform of the Security Council. In a rundown ofnegotiations at the UN on reform of the Security Council, Dr. Lodhi said that Pakistan's positionin these negotiations is based on principle. Pakistan seeks a Council that is more representative ofall member states and not one where privilege is the preserve of a few.

In her wide-ranging lecture, Dr. Lodhi said that Pakistan's engagement at the UN had, over thedecades, involved contributions in both hard and soft power. In terms of hard power Pakistanhas for decades been among the world's top and most consistent contributors to UNPeacekeeping. As for soft power, she said in the realm of ideas, personalities such as Dr.Mahbubul Haq and Nafis Sadiq have made a far-reaching contribution.Earlier, in his welcome remarks, DG ISSI Ambassador Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry welcomed thedistinguished speaker and the guests while giving a cross-sectional view of multilateralism, itsevolving dimensions in the contemporary world order and its future.

Admiring the role of UN asa multilateral institution, he raised a pertinent question why it has not been able to resolve thelong-standing dispute of Kashmir, and whether it would ever be able to resolve it in the face ofIndian intransigence?In his concluding remarks, Chairman ISSI Ambassador Khalid Mahmood succinctly captured thestructural flaws that are paralyzing the functional spirit of the UN. Undoubtedly, even as the UNis trying to cope with numerous challenges right now, the Ambassador noted, the crucialsignificance of multilateralism does not fade away. However, he emphasized, the UN needs toimprove its structural barriers and must live up to the expectations of catering to the urgency forcommon good, global peace and security.The lecture was attended by a large number of diplomats, officials and academics.