Pak urges UN to guarantee 'right of self-determination' to people under foreign occupation

Pakistan has urged the United Nations to guarantee the right of self-determination to people living under foreign occupation if the principles of its Charter is to have meaning.

Pakistan's UN Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi said that it would be a matter of regret if the charter's principles were flouted in pursuit of narrow 'national interests' by the powerful people,reports Dawn.

Maleeha Lodhi during a debate in the Security Council on UN Charter and Maintenance of Peace and Security added that unless the rule of international law is applied, people's expectations of justice and fairness from the UN will remain unmet.

She observed that member states had solemnly entered into this covenant 70 years ago with the trust that these principles were immutable.

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Lodhi stressed that failure to deter illegal use of force had created an impression that UN had become an instrument of the powerful, not guardian of international law tenets.

She called for a world order based on justice and respect for obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law.

She called for a world order based on justice and respect for obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law, and most critically, the purposes and principles of the charter itself.

Ms Lodhi further said that today, we reaffirm our commitment to the UN Charter because we continue to think that adhering to these principles will save us from the scourge of war.