Pakistan has called United Nations to protect civilians in Gaza. Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Munir Akram, has called for a reevaluation of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) doctrine in light of the ongoing occupations and human rights violations in Palestine and Indian-administered Kashmir. Ambassador Akram addressed the 97th plenary meeting of the General Assembly in New York, highlighting the failures of the international community to prevent genocide and war crimes in these regions.
“The ongoing genocide in Gaza and the egregious human rights violations in Indian Occupied Kashmir are stark reminders of the R2P concept’s shortcomings,” Ambassador Akram emphasized.
“The scale of devastation, killings, and humanitarian crisis in Gaza demands urgent intervention to halt the genocide, which the international community has thus far failed to address.”
He also urged the UN’s Special Adviser on R2P to take notice of Pakistan’s concerns and focus attention on the situations in Indian-administered Kashmir and India. The longstanding dispute over Kashmir has led to three wars between India and Pakistan, with both countries accusing each other of human rights violations.
Pakistan has consistently supported the Palestinian cause and champions their right to statehood on global platforms. The Palestinian health authorities report that Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza has resulted in over 37,000 deaths, mostly civilians, and displaced a significant portion of the enclave’s 2.3 million population.
Ambassador Akram’s call to reexamine the R2P doctrine comes amidst growing concerns about the international community’s inability to effectively respond to mass atrocities and human rights violations.
The R2P concept was established in 2001 to ensure that the international community would never again fail to prevent genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity, as seen in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia during the 1990s.