ISLAMABAD: The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), during its 80th session on Friday, adopted by consensus a Pakistan-sponsored resolution titled “Universal Realization of the Right of the Peoples to Self-Determination.”

The resolution was passed with broad international support, reflecting widespread recognition of the inalienable right of peoples subjected to colonialism, alien domination, and foreign occupation.

In a post on X, Pakistan’s Permanent Mission to the UN highlighted that the adoption of the resolution underscores global backing for the rights of the people in regions facing such circumstances.

It emphasizes the situations of the people in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and Palestine explicitly, reinforcing international attention to their struggle for freedom, dignity, and self-determination in line with UN Security Council resolutions.

‘Enduring obligation’

In a related development, Pakistan’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Usman Jadoon, addressing the Assembly on the occasion of the International Day against Colonialism in All Its Forms and Manifestations, said self-determination was “not merely a historical aspiration, but an enduring obligation” of the international community.

“Recent developments in the Middle East demonstrate that lasting peace cannot be achieved through the continued denial and suppression of the legitimate right to self-determination of the Palestinian people,“ he said.

On Indian-occupied Kashmir, the Pakistani envoy reminded the UNGA that the issue was not a bilateral dispute but an internationally recognized one.

“The UNSC, through several resolutions, has recognized the legitimate right of self-determination of the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.

“A just resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute remains central to the establishment of durable peace in South Asia,” Ambassador Jadoon added, warning that continued inaction risked further instability in an already volatile region.

Pakistan’s Permanent Mission to the UN

UN General Assembly adopts Pakistan-sponsored resolution on right to self-determination