Pakistan aiming to secure UNSC seat for eighth time

Pakistan’s Permanent Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Munir Akram has said that the country will be contesting in the upcoming elections for the UN Security Council (UNSC) to secure a seat for the eighth time.

In a virtual interaction with the US-based Pakistan Students Association Coalition (PSA), Ambassador Akram expressed hope that Islamabad will be elected as a non-permanent UNSC member on June 6 which will then bring a lot of responsibilities.

The envoy said that Pakistan, if elected, will play a leadership role in addressing not only our issues which are the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), Afghanistan and counter-terrorism but also to promote consensus on peacekeeping.

His remarks come as Islamabad has so far secured the endorsement of the 55-member Asian Group for the elections for five of the 10 non-permanent seats on the Security Council for the term 2025-26 slated for next month.

Pakistan has been elected to the Security Council seven times, with the most recent term being in 2013. Other occasions were 1952-1953, 1968-1969, 1976-1977, 1983-1984, 1993-1994 and 2003-2004.

Furthermore, the envoy accentuated that the opportunity would allow them to “articulate the aspirations and the rights of the developing countries and push for peace and security in the Middle East, Africa and the promotion of the right to self-determination for the people facing foreign occupation”.

Underscoring the country’s active role in the inter-governmental organisation, the envoy recalled Islamabad’s leading role in advocating the concepts of vaccine equality, and the creation of new money for the developing countries enabling them to fight off the impact of COVID-19 — an effort that led to restructuring of debt and suspension of interest payments by G-20 and therefore providing a substantial relief to the developing world.

“Likewise, the establishment of the instrument of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) of $650 billion by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) led to the provision of additional resources to the developing countries in navigating the economic challenges.

“We are now asking for redistribution of the unused SDRs among those developing countries that are in acute need to realize their commitment to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and deal with the challenge of climate change,” Ambassador Akram noted.

Commenting on the upcoming Summit of the Future, the envoy underscored Pakistan’s efforts to build consensus with other developing countries to protect their legitimate interests and rights during the negotiation process for the Pact for Future.