Statement by Ambassador Shamshad Ahmad, the Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations on Agenda Item 10: "Report of the Secretary General on the Work of Organization"25 September 2001  

Mr. President,

This year as we address ourselves to the Secretary-General’s Annual report, we should be doing more than just a ritual. It is a different year that we look at in retrospect. The Millennium year, the first of the 21st Century, as it would be remembered in history, started with a renewed commitment of the UN membership at the highest level, to the timeless and universal purposes and principles of the Charter. Our leaders adopted the historic Millennium Declaration last year as a blueprint of their vision for the 21st century.

It is not a time for clichés and the same old complimentary or critical attributes to the Secretary-General’s report. I think this comprehensive, focused and action-oriented report has been overtaken by events. The Secretary-General has himself added a postscript to his own report. We all read, the other day, his op-ed article in the New York Times, which could be made a new chapter of his report as an adjunct. He defines, in the wake of what we all saw with horror and shock in this city and in the city of Washington, a new challenge to humanity and the need for a global response. Terrorism is a universal evil with tentacles in all societies, irrespective of religion, ethnicity and even the level of affluence or development.

If ever there was a wake up call, it came on 11th September.  This wake up call came not to any one country or any one society but to humanity as a whole. Consequently, it is humanity, which now has to respond to this challenge – this universal evil. Our response must not be based on retribution alone, nor on emotion or anger. It must be guided by wisdom and facts and motivated by the need to remedy the disease by addressing its root causes.

Terrorism lurks in the shadows and wilderness. It breeds on disillusionment and suspicion and on fear and hopelessness. It is fed by ignorance and poverty. It is exploited by hatred, resentment, and the perceived invasion of cultures. The roots of terrorism lie in the inequity of societies, in the despair of slums, and in the bewilderment of the human soul. This is a problem that has to be dealt with in a long-term manner. It needs a new, measured, sustained and holistic approach, which aims at rooting out injustice and oppression that lie at the heart of this phenomenon.

The Secretary-General has rightly said in his article that the United Nations, as representative body of humanity, is uniquely placed to mobilize a concerted and continued response to the challenge that is before us. Let us hold each other’s hands. Let us not turn our backs on each other. Let us strengthen each other. Let us respect each other and each other’s culture and value systems. Let us enable this world body to play its Charter role in preventing conflicts and resolving disputes. Let us persevere, as the Secretary-General has said, “in creating a stronger, more just, more benevolent and more genuine international community.”  

Mr. President,

We in Pakistan abhor and condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including state terrorism. We agree with the Secretary-General that the United Nations provides the forum and global legitimacy for a universal response against terrorism. Pakistan has pledged its full and unstinted support in the fight against international terrorism. This is a pledge, rooted in our commitment to the principles, for which my country stands. In the past, when the world was polarized between two ideologies, we chose the side that stood for freedom and justice. Today, we again stand on the side of right and we are still upholding the flag of freedom and justice.  

Mr. President,

My comments on the Secretary-General’s report in light of the changed situation will have to be selective and focused.  Indeed, we are today at a crossroad facing yet another defining moment. Last century was full of many defining moments. We saw great upheavals in the form of economic disasters and great wars during the first half of the 20th Century. The United Nations was born out of these upheavals to provide a moral edifice for the reordering of the global system. In the perennial struggle that runs through the history of mankind, the United Nations was to imprint what is good and combat what is evil.

Multilateral cooperation was to be the norm for resolving “all” global problems. The United Nations, as mankind's “last best hope” was to chart the way to a new and better world  -- a world free of violence, injustice and oppression. The United Nations also signified the dawn of decolonization as the age of colonial and racial powers had run its course. In those early decades of the 50s, 60s and 70s, the peoples of Kashmir, Palestine, South Africa, Namibia and those from scores of other regions won legitimacy as well as political and moral endorsement for their just causes. Unfortunately, the world today is still experiencing violence, injustice and oppression. The struggle of those who remain deprived of their legitimate inalienable rights continues.  

Mr. President,

We note in the Secretary-General’s report the reference to both Kashmir and Palestine – two of the longest unresolved disputes of our time. We agree with his assessment that “the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians can be resolved only through a political settlement.”  We also agree with his observation that the tragic loss of life has underlined the urgency of reaching a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the Middle East conflict on the basis of Security Council resolutions.  His observations on Palestine are equally valid for Kashmir, where also thousands of innocent lives have been lost necessitating an early solution of the problem in accordance with the resolutions of the Security Council.  

Mr. President,

We are happy that the Secretary General was able to visit South Asia in March and lent his support for the resumption of bilateral dialogue between Pakistan and India. The dialogue was indeed resumed later in the year. We hope that the Secretary-General and the international community will continue to encourage this dialogue to meaningfully reach its logical and honourable conclusion – a final settlement of the Kashmir issue in accordance with the Security Council resolutions and in conformity with the wishes of the Kashmiri people.

Pakistan, for its part, remains fully committed to sustaining a purposeful and result-oriented dialogue with India with a view to finding a just and equitable settlement of the core dispute of Kashmir and addressing other outstanding issues. We seek durable peace with India. Both our countries need to free ourselves from the legacy of the last century, and begin a new relationship focusing on the socio-economic development of our peoples.

Another conflict, which has eluded resolution for over two decades, is Afghanistan. Today, it is the focus of the world community in a tragic context. As the international community responds to the current crisis, it must also address the grave humanitarian situation in that country through reconstruction and reconciliation.  We welcome the Secretary General’s offer in his report that the UN is prepared to assist “in the political, developmental and humanitarian fields in order to address the root causes of instability”.

Pakistan has for more than two decades borne the burden of millions of Afghan refugees. We continue to host the world’s largest refugee population, which touched the peak figure of 4.5 million in the 1980’s, while the international assistance continued to progressively decline. As rightly pointed out by the Secretary General in his report, this year alone 200,000 Afghans have left their homes due to protracted conflict and acute drought conditions and sought shelter in Pakistan. With the situation unfolding before us, the UNHCR is of the view that nearly 1.5 million more Afghan refugees may enter Pakistan. How the international community copes with the impending humanitarian crisis will be a real test not only of its ability but also of its moral responsibility. We appreciate the personal interest that the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Mr. Ruud Lubbers, is taking in this emerging humanitarian crisis.  

Mr. President,

We note with satisfaction that one area where the United Nations has begun to improve its performance in the last year is peacekeeping. It is in no small measure a tribute to determination of this Organization and the world community to work effectively towards a common goal. Pakistan, as a leading troop contributing country, has also played its due role both here in UN headquarters and in the field. We, as ever, remain committed to supporting this Organization in its efforts to maintain international peace and security. We are encouraged by the Secretary-General’s interest in conflict-prevention and peacemaking and we urge him to broaden the scope of his efforts and that of this Organization to cover those areas which have thus far not received due attention by the international community.

Another area that deserves greater attention of the international community is the eradication of poverty. At the Millennium Summit, our leaders  “resolved to wage war on poverty by launching a sustained campaign to make the right to development a reality for everyone.” We need concrete steps to achieve this goal.  We agree with the Secretary-General that if the international community is to meet its goals of development and poverty eradication, economic growth in developing countries must accelerate. To this end, we are currently pursuing the financing for development process in a holistic manner with the participation of all major stakeholders including the Bretton Woods Institutions. This process cannot produce miracles but it is worth making a collective effort to create an enabling environment for socio-economic growth.

While we must do more, as the Secretary-General says, “to render globalization inclusive and equitable,” for the international community, this “daunting” task acquires an added importance and urgency in light of the new grim reality we face today. The world community, and this Organization must, therefore, think long and hard at its priorities and the ways it deals with those parts of the world or societies which have missed out on the benefits of our times. Thus, in the context of globalization, it becomes all the more necessary and urgent, that the United Nations must seriously review its policies and programmes to deal with the new challenge, which has unfortunately redefined this new Century. We must, therefore, respond appropriately and review our policies. The conditions in which we live have now been changed forever. Let us hope that the best that is in our humanity has not.

The Founding Fathers of this Organization had a vision. They envisioned a future where our succeeding generations would live in peace and prosperity, a world order based on our faith in fundamental human rights, socio-economic equity, rule of international law and dignity of human beings and justice. Let us re-affirm those ideals and re-dedicate ourselves to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations.

I thank you, Mr. President.n

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