Rejoining UNSC | Editorial
Pakistan’s election to the non-permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council by an overwhelming majority is a milestone for the country’s diplomacy on the international stage. Returning to the United Nations’ apex body for the 8th time, Pakistan has taken up the mantle of global peace and order before and is ready to do so again. Despite its significant drawbacks, Pakistan has always kept faith with the United Nations, as attested by its tradition of being a leading contributor to the UN Peacekeeping Forces, with over 4,000 on active duty right now.
Pakistan’s diplomats and leaders seem eager to take up their positions, and they should be. We have arrived in the UNSC with the world in turmoil. Palestine, Ukraine, Taiwan, and sub-Saharan Africa are in a state of open hostility, all part of the same geopolitical tussle between multipolarity and unipolarity. The West is barreling towards a globe-spanning conflict and seems to have lost the ability to slow down in any meaningful way. Israel’s brutal genocide, backed to the hilt by the West, has driven a stake through the global community, dividing it into irreconcilable camps. This feeds into the rising nationalism and xenophobia we see across the world today. In the background, the planet quietly burns. The UNSC cannot solve all of this, and Pakistan, as a non-permanent member not holding a veto, certainly cannot solve all of this. In the greater scheme of things, it will be part of yet another UNSC logjammed by the veto power, while the P5 continue to flaunt those orders with impunity anyway. However, it can still be a strong and important voice—being an advocate for the oppressed and bringing attention to long-forgotten issues, such as Indian Occupied Kashmir.
Along with Algeria and Somalia, Pakistan represents the Muslim world in the UNSC now, and it should use its power—limited as it is—to bring about an end to the genocide and occupation of Palestine.
Rejoining UNSC | Editorial
Source: https://www.nation.com.pk/07-Jun-2024/rejoining-unsc