NEW YORK: Emphasizing UN General Assembly’s status as the only forum with universal representation, Pakistan Thursday said that its revitalization was vital to promoting world peace and security, especially its authority for peace enforcement when the Security Council fails to act in a crisis. “This authority is significant in the context of the developments in Gaza,” Naeem Sabir Khan, a counsellor at the Pakistan Mission to the UN, said during a thematic debate on the “Role and Authority of the General Assembly,” at the UN Headquarters in NewYork.
While terming the revitalization of the 193-member Assembly a political rather than a procedural matter, the Pakistani representative called for boosting its role in the peaceful resolution of disputes under Chapter VI of the UN Charter that includes mediation, conciliation. In this regard, he emphasized the need for limiting the encroachment of the Security Council on numerous “thematic” issues that fall within the ambit of the General Assembly — the agenda for women, peace and security; development and security; climate change and security. Counsellor Sabir Khan also advocated for the General Assembly’s greater contribution to norm-building and codification of international law. –Agencies
