NEW YORK: At the UN, Pakistan called for addressing the underlying causes of conflict in order to achieve sustainable peace in a world afflicted by turmoil, disruption and instability.
Speaking in a high level dialogue convened by the President of UN General Assembly on ‘Building Sustainable Peace for All’, Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi said that it was a key but daunting challenge that cannot be met unless the underlying causes of conflict were addressed.
These causes, she said, included poverty; environmental degradation; political and economic injustice; ethnic, tribal and religious tensions; and external interference and intervention. “It also means addressing longstanding political disputes”, she added.
Underscoring the nexus between peace, development and justice, Ambassador Lodhi said that Goal 16 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development calls for “Peaceful, Just and Inclusive societies” as necessary to achieve the sustainable development goals. “Development and peace reinforce and strengthen these inter linked objectives. Indeed there can be no development without peace, and no peace without development”, she stressed.
The Pakistani envoy said that political, security and development sectors need to support each other in striving for sustainable peace. She called it a comprehensive activity requiring holistic, long-term thinking that connects development, peace and security to human rights.
Describing the 2030 Agenda as a testimony to “our common vision and commitment to a peaceful and prosperous world”, Ambassador Lodhi said that adequate financial resources, political support and efficient management and coordination by the several concerned UN organs and entities remain pivotal to the fulfillment of this ambitious dream.
Ambassador Lodhi emphasized that availability of adequate and timely resources was a critical challenge to achieve the SDGs and identified this as one of the primary reasons for the sub-optimal performance of the MDGs. “Raising trillions of dollars every year to realize the SDGs would be a critical test”, she added.
She called for optimization of domestic resource mobilization and prioritization and added that “An enabling international environment that promotes and complements domestic policies and priorities, however, will remain essential” she added.
Pakistan, Ambassador Lodhi told the world body, recognizes the importance of building resilient societies to prevent conflicts and promote security. “We fully subscribe to the need to improve governance, respect for human rights and promote sustainable development”.
She concluded by expressing Pakistan’s commitment to international obligations in this regard. NNI
