Amid Israeli onslaught in Gaza, UN adopts Pakistan-sponsored resolution on self-determination

By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD (AA) – Amid the Israeli army's intensified attacks on the besieged Gaza Strip, the UN General Assembly has adopted a Pakistan-sponsored resolution on "Universal Realization of the Right of the People to Self-Determination."

The resolution was supported and sponsored by a large number of countries from different regions and was adopted by consensus, said a statement issued by the Pakistan Mission to the UN on Tuesday.

The right of peoples to self-determination is a core principle enshrined in Article 1 of the UN Charter, and the Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, as well as the "Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action."

The resolution reaffirmed "unequivocal" support for the realization of the right to self-determination for peoples living under "foreign occupation, colonial domination, and subjugation."

"It vehemently opposes acts of foreign occupation, intervention and aggression, and calls upon responsible States to immediately cease such acts," the statement read.

For over four decades, Islamabad has presented this landmark resolution to the UN General Assembly.

"This annual initiative provides a message of hope to the peoples living in internationally recognized situations of foreign occupation, including in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and in Occupied Palestinian Territories, who are being denied the right to self-determination as enshrined in international law and numerous UN resolutions," it added.

Israel has bombarded the Gaza Strip from the air and land, imposed a siege, and mounted a ground offensive in retaliation for a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7.

At least 19,667 Palestinians have since been killed and 52,586 injured in the Israeli onslaught, according to Gaza’s health authorities.

The Israeli death toll in the Hamas attack on Oct. 7 stands at 1,200, while over 130 hostages are still held by the Palestinian group in Gaza, according to official figures.