July 25, 2015
News
UNSC urged to adopt comprehensive strategy against ISIS
NEW YORK: Pakistan’s Ambassador to the UN Dr Maleeha Lodhi has called for a comprehensive strategy covering military, political, economic and social sides to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a movement motivated by an ideology of hate and gruesome violence.
“ISIS poses a spreading threat to security across the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. A military-only approach is neither sufficient nor permanent in its impact,” she stated.
Ambassador Lodhi made these remarks while taking part in the UN Security Council’s debate on the Middle East. Highlighting the threat posed by ISIS in the Middle East, she emphasised the need to confront and roll back ISIS in Iraq and said that this should be achieved by the state, and not by sectarian militias. “Success will come only if the minority population is fully assured of its safety and human rights,” she asserted. “Durable peace can be achieved through political solutions, not just military engagements”, she added.
She welcomed the nuclear deal with Iran hoping this would also help find regional solutions to the Middle East’s growing challenges. “The landmark agreement reached with Iran, which if fully and sincerely implemented, could not only contribute to nuclear non-proliferation but also regional stability, cooperation and economic growth,” she said. It could open the way for “closer consultations and even agreement on how to address pressing regional challenges”, she added.
On the Syrian crisis, Ambassador Lodhi hailed the consultations undertaken by the UN’s special envoy in Geneva and emphasised on “a serious search for a political solution”. She voiced Pakistan’s concern over resumption of violent clashes in Yemen and urged all parties to the conflict to return to the negotiating table. She called for the restoration of the legitimate government of Yemen but stressed that “this effort should be led by diplomacy and engagement”.
On the Palestine issue, she called on the Security Council to adopt a resolution setting timelines and parameters for establishing an independent, viable and contiguous state of Palestine, based on the pre-1967 borders, with Jerusalem as its capital. She said that Pakistan believes that the path to sustainable peace in the Middle East lies only in the two-state solution and an end to Israeli occupation of all Arab lands. She called upon the 15-member council to take its responsibilities seriously.
Lodhi referred to the Report of the Independent Commission of Inquiry established by the Human Rights Council on the Gaza conflict, which she termed as an eye opener. “It establishes that “security concerns” cannot relieve Israel of its obligations under international law”, she asserted. “Full implementation of the OIC-sponsored and Pakistan-steered Human Rights Council Resolution of July 1 would be a step towards ending this cycle of impunity.”
She said that Israel’s actions that devastated Gaza were but one aspect of the daily hardships that Palestinians face as a result of the Israeli occupation. The eight-year blockade of Gaza, the detention regime, excessive use of force on Palestinian civilians and illegal settlements all continue unabated and unchecked. “It is heartbreaking,” she added, “that of the over 12,500 houses completely destroyed in Gaza, not a single one has so far been rebuilt.”
She said Israel’s inflexible posture had frozen prospects for a resumed peace process, while the failure to implement various recommendations regarding Israel’s violations all but guaranteed their systematic recurrence. “This impunity must end,” she said. Only 28 percent of the $3.5 billion pledged in Cairo had been disbursed, she pointed out.
Ambassador Lodhi’s speech followed a briefing on the developments in the Middle East by Nickolay Mladenov, United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Personal Representative of the Secretary-General. Mladenov called for decisive action to reverse the growing perception that the two-state solution was dying a death “by a thousand cuts”.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk