Unresolved Conflicts Threaten UNSC Credibility, Speakers Warn at Pakistan-Hosted Arria-Formula Event
Speakers at an informal UN Security Council meeting Wednesday urged the consistent, universal enforcement of international law during conflicts. They argued that the credibility of the international legal order relies on action rather than rhetoric, emphasizing that resolutions must actively protect civilians, prevent violations, and advance peaceful resolutions of conflicts.
"The first casualty of war must never be international law itself," Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad told the meeting held under Arria-Formula format named after a former Venezuelan Ambassador to the UN, Diego Arriva.
Pakistan-Hosted Meeting on Upholding International Law
The meeting, hosted by Pakistan on the theme of 'Upholding International Law in Situations of Armed Conflict,' was attended by a wide membership of the United Nations, including the ten elected and five permanent members of the 15-member Council.
Arria-Formula meetings are informal that enable Security Council members to have a frank and private exchange of views on relevant subjects.
Wednesday's meeting featured briefings from representatives of:
- United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
- International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
- International Peace Institute (IPI)
- World Forum for Peace and Justice
The briefers highlighted the humanitarian consequences of non-compliance with international law and the need to strengthen civilian protection, humanitarian access, accountability, and implementation of international legal obligations.
Ambassador Asim Ahmad underscored the need to close the persistent gap between international legal obligations and their implementation, stressing that the true measure of the international legal order is whether its rules protect people when war begins, constrain the powerful, and are applied consistently "irrespective of geography, politics or identity."
Focus on Occupied Territories
The Pakistani envoy described the situation in Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) and Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) as an enduring test of the authority of international law and the credibility of the UN Security Council.
"Nowhere has the credibility of the international legal order been tested more painfully than in Gaza, where immense destruction, displacement, and deprivation have devastated an entire society," he said.
Gaza is a test case of whether the fundamental principles of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) apply equally and without exception, Ambassador Asim Ahmad said. Demanding that Israeli occupation must end, he stated that the Palestinian people must be able to live in freedom and dignity by exercising their right to self-determination.
"Likewise, the appalling situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) too remains a matter of deep concern," he added.