Washington (TDI): The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Thursday adopted, by consensus, a Pakistan-sponsored resolution reaffirming the right to self-determination for peoples still subjected to colonial, foreign, and alien occupation.
The resolution, titled “Universal Realisation of the Right of the Peoples to Self-Determination”, was adopted during the UNGA’s 80th session, according to Pakistan’s Permanent Mission to the UN. In a statement, the mission said the consensual adoption reflected broad international support for the inalienable rights of peoples facing colonialism and foreign domination.
“For the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and Palestine, the resolution reinforces international attention to their just and legitimate cause and their aspirations for freedom and dignity in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions,” the statement added.
Diplomats noted that adoption by consensus, without a formal vote, underscored continued global recognition that the denial of self-determination remains a root cause of conflict in several regions, despite repeated UN commitments to end colonialism. This year, while the United States sought to vote on nearly every UNGA resolution, the Pakistan-sponsored text was among the few that passed by consensus, a reflection of Pakistan’s diplomatic outreach.
Earlier in the day, Pakistan addressed the UNGA on the occasion of the International Day against Colonialism in All Its Forms and Manifestations. Ambassador Usman Jadoon, Pakistan’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, emphasized that self-determination is “not merely a historical aspiration, but an enduring obligation” of the international community.
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Highlighting the Middle East, he said lasting peace could not be achieved while the legitimate right to self-determination of the Palestinian people remained denied. On Jammu and Kashmir, he reminded the Assembly that the issue is not bilateral but internationally recognized, with the UN Security Council affirming the people’s right to self-determination through multiple resolutions. He stressed that a just resolution of the Kashmir dispute is central to durable peace in South Asia.
Marking the 65th anniversary of General Assembly Resolution 1514 (XV), the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, Ambassador Jadoon said that the decolonization agenda extends beyond Non-Self-Governing Territories to encompass peoples living under foreign occupation. He added that the promise of Resolution 1514 (XV) remains unfulfilled and that this failure continues to threaten international peace and security.
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Aligning with a statement delivered by Uganda on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), he underscored that colonial domination and exploitation violate fundamental human rights and the principles of the UN Charter. “The right to self-determination is an inalienable and universal right,” he said, emphasizing that it cannot be selective or politically conditional.
Ambassador Jadoon called on member states to uphold international law and implement UN resolutions consistently and non-selectively, urging renewed international resolve to eradicate colonialism in all its forms and manifestations.
