Pakistan has criticized the UN for catering to interests of big powers and ignoring those of the small countries, while pointing to the world body s uneven treatment to peace and security issues, especially the Middle East and Kashmir. This Organization was created for all its Member States and all their peoples; it must be responsive to their interests and reflect their goals and aspirations, Pakistan s Ambassador to the United Nations Munir Akram told the UN General Assembly, according to a message received in Islamabad from New York. The ambassador was speaking at the start of a debate on the annual report of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, his first to UN member states that covers developments around the world in the political, social and economic fields. In a forthright speech, Akram expressed concern that the United Nations was unable to effectively address today s complex challenges or to exploit opportunities for building peace. To realize the Organization s potential, he said, States must reconcile their conflicting visions of its purpose and functions. The United Nations is not an instrument for serving the unilateral interests of any power; rather it is a vehicle for promoting multilateral cooperation, he said. Akram said from a small and medium State perspective, the inequality of treatment of issues was a shortcoming. That inequality was evident in the field of peace and security, particularly in the Middle East, where the views of most Members were not reflected in Security Council decisions or Secretariat pronouncements. Inequality of treatment is evident from the omission from the annual report of any reference to the volatile region of South Asia and the central dispute over Jammu and Kashmir which has plagued relations in that region for six decades, the Pakistani ambassador said and added that it is also evident in the UN s one-sided approach to such issues such as disarmament and non-proliferation as well as human rights. To ensure equity, Akram said it was essential to rebalance the Security Council and General Assembly powers. The Council should restrict its role to maintaining peace and security. Its work must be transparent, and composition more representative of United Nations membership. --MORE
