24th October has been celebrated as UN Day since 1948. It is the day when UN charter was ratified. With the ratification of this founding document by the majority of its signatories, including the five permanent members of the Security Council, the UN officially came into being. In 1971, the UNGA recommended that the day be observed by the Member States as a public holiday.
Pakistan is committed to a world in which upholding human dignity is the highest value and maintaining global peace a sacred duty. Over the last 75 years, Pakistan has put this vision into practice by making significant contributions to the principles and purposes of the UN Charter, in particular the promotion and maintenance of international peace and security, as a member of the Security Council and through its contribution to UN Peacekeeping. It has been an ardent advocate of multilateralism and the primacy of the UN in international affairs.
Pakistan joined the UN on September 30, 1947 just over a month after its independence. It has been actively involved in various UN conferences and its specialized agencies. It has been elected seven times (1952 to 2013) in the UN Security Council.
Pakistan’s journey with UN Peacekeeping began in July 1960, when it deployed its first contingent in UN Operations in Congo (ONUC). With nearly 4,462 uniformed personnel serving in some of most dangerous UN missions, such as in Central African Republic and Mali, Pakistan is the sixth largest contributor to UN peace operations.
On 29 March 2022, at least eight UN peacekeepers, including six Pakistani soldiers, were martyred when a helicopter crashed on a reconnaissance mission in Congo. While undertaking a reconnaissance mission in Congo, one PUMA helicopter crashed. The martyred soldiers were identified as Lt Col Asif Ali Awan, who was the pilot, Major Saad Nomani, who was the co-pilot, Major Faizan Ali, N/S Sami Ullah Khan, who was the flight engineer, Havaldar Muhammad Ismail, who was the crew chief, and L/Hav Muhamad Jamil, who was the gunner.
To mark the Day at the UN Headquarters in New York on 26 May 2022, the Secretary-General laid a wreath in honour of all peacekeepers who have lost their lives while serving under the UN flag over the past seven decades. The UN posthumously honoured 117 peacekeepers from around the world, including six Pakistanis, in a special ceremony in connection with the Day of the UN Peacekeepers.
Keeping in view, international community’s confidence in Pakistan’s policies and its contribution to the national and global human rights agenda and strong credentials as a consensus builder in the HRC, Pakistan was re-elected to the UN Human Rights Council on 13 October, 2020, with an overwhelming majority, securing 169 votes in the 193 member UN General Assembly. Since HRC’s establishment in 2006, this is the fifth time Pakistan has been elected to premier UN body on Human Rights. As part of its efforts to contribute to the global discourse on disarmament and non-proliferation, Pakistan presents four resolutions annually in the United Nations General Assembly. These resolutions are aimed at reinforcing the global norms on conventional arms control, regional disarmament, confidence building measures in the regional context and the continuing importance of providing Negative Security Assurances to non-nuclear weapon states.
Pakistan has been a leading voice for the reform of the Security Council to make it more democratic, inclusive and accountable through reform of its membership and improvement in its working methods.
Participation in UN peacekeeping operations is now a tenet of Pakistan’s foreign policy. It takes its inspiration from policy statement of the founder of the nation that Pakistan wants peace with all nations of the world, Quaid-e-Azam said: “We are prepared to make our utmost contribution to promotion of peace and prosperity among the nations of the world. Pakistan will never be found lacking in extending its material and moral support to the oppressed and suppressed peoples of the world and in upholding the principles of the UN Charter.”
Where other countries’ peacekeeping record is marred by incidents ranging from theft and misappropriation to those as abhorrent as abuse and rape, Pakistan’s record, for most part, has been spotless. That is why Pakistan is being regarded as the best performer by both the UN leadership and world leaders.
