Amid Ukraine conflict, Pakistan warns of erosion of trust, peaceful coexistence

UNITED NATIONS: With the high-intensity war in Ukraine eroding trust and straining peaceful co-existence, Pakistan has called for investing more in conflict prevention and pacific settlement of disputes as reaffirmed by the Security Council in its resolution (2788).

“We must rekindle the spirit of Helsinki, avoid confrontation, invest more in dialogue and diplomacy, and renew our unwavering commitment to crafting mutually agreed Confidence and Security-Building Measures (CBMs)”, Pakistani Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad told the 15-member Council.

Speaking after a briefing from the Chairperson-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and Finland’s Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen, he said Pakistan hopes the Council will support a partnership with the organization which “reaffirms our shared commitment to a stable and just global order, underpinned by international law and an unwavering commitment to multilateralism with the UN at its core’.

The 57-member, Vienna-based OSCE is anchored in the principles of the 1975 Helsinki Final Act, which this year is marking its 50th anniversary.

The Helsinki Final Act, also known as the Helsinki Accords, established the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE), which later evolved into the OSCE. Its core purpose is to promote stability and security across a region stretching from Vancouver to Vladivostok, covering Europe, Central Asia, and North America.

In his remarks, the Pakistan envoy underscored that the OSCE is “navigating a difficult geopolitical landscape, with conflict raging in the heart of Europe for nearly 4 years, depletion of trust and unprecedented strains on peaceful co-existence”.

Ambassador Asim Ahmad added,  “It is precisely in these times that the international community must rekindle the spirit of Helsinki and demonstrate that comprehensive security is best preserved through cooperative instruments”– not by the pursuit of hegemony and domination through military means.

Effective partnership, he said, is about leveraging complementary strengths for conflict prevention, transnational threat response, and post-conflict stabilization, always grounded in the UN Charter’s core principles.

“Our principled approach on matters related to cooperation between the UN and regional organizations is informed by the value that we believe these organizations bring to work of the UN, including in the maintenance of peace and security, the Pakistani envoy said.

“To that end, we support OSCE’s cooperation with the UN, consistent with Chapter VIII of the UN Charter,” which is about pacific settlements of disputes.

Briefing the Council,  Ms. Valtonen, OSCE’s Chairperson-in-Office, said that by  waging a war of aggression against Ukraine, the Russia has breached every Principle set out in the Helsinki Act.

Helsinki Principles mirror those of the Charter of the United Nations — sovereign equality, territorial integrity, inviolability of frontiers, refraining from the threat or use of force, and respect for human rights, she said.

“For five decades, the OSCE has been the guardian of these Principles, and held States accountable,”  Ms. Valtonen said, stressing that granting fundamental rights to their citizens is a duty for each participating State.

She underscored that the Russia’s  war of aggression against Ukraine is the largest and longest war in Europe since the Second World War.

Ms. Valtonen called on all States to support Ukraine in achieving a just and lasting peace “as soon as possible”. APP