*Remarks by Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad*
*Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN,*
*At the Presentation of the Report of the Human Rights Council in the General Assembly*
*(31 October 2025)*
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Mr. President,
We thank the President of the Human Rights Council for the comprehensive presentation of the Report, which reflects the Council’s broad engagement in addressing global human rights challenges.
2. Pakistan reaffirms its unwavering support for the Human Rights Council as the principal subsidiary organ of the General Assembly mandated to promote and protect all human rights based on universality, impartiality, objectivity, and non-selectivity. The Council must remain a forum for dialogue and cooperation, not confrontation or politicization. Selectivity and double standards erode credibility and must be rejected.
Mr. President,
3. The report highlights the Council’s multidimensional engagement covering both long-standing crises and emerging issues. Pakistan values its attention to grave situations, including the continued denial of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and the plight of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. Durable peace and respect for human rights cannot be achieved without addressing all situations of foreign occupation and denial of self-determination, including in Palestine and Jammu and Kashmir, where peoples continue to face oppression and dispossession. The Council must employ its prevention mandate proactively to uphold international law and protect the rights of all occupied and oppressed peoples without discrimination.
Mr. President,
4. As the United Nations marks its eightieth anniversary, it is time to renew our commitment to a coherent and equitable global human rights system. The proliferation of mandates has created a widening gap between the Council’s growing responsibilities and its limited resources, risking its effectiveness. Pakistan underscores the need to streamline mandates, avoid duplication, and strengthen coordination across mechanisms. The focus must be on quality over quantity — ensuring each mandate adds value and contributes meaningfully to the promotion of all rights.
5. Adequate, predictable, and sustainable financing is also vital for the Council’s credibility and functionality. Without addressing the funding crisis hampering technical cooperation and capacity-building, the Council’s ability to deliver will remain constrained. Assistance must be demand-driven, culturally sensitive, and aligned with national contexts, enabling developing countries to progressively realize their human rights obligations.
6. We must also maintain a balanced focus across all categories of rights. Too often, attention and resources are disproportionately directed toward civil and political rights, while economic, social, and cultural rights — including the right to development — receive less priority. The indivisibility and interdependence of all human rights are foundational principles of the United Nations. The Council must ensure equal attention to the nexus between human rights, development, and sustainability to fulfill the promise of the 2030 Agenda.
7. The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) remains one of the Council’s most effective mechanisms. It embodies universality, objectivity, and cooperation. Pakistan underscores the importance of preserving its universality and integrity. Every State must participate constructively, both as a reviewer and as a State under review, to ensure that the UPR continues as a cooperative platform for dialogue, mutual learning, and capacity-building.
Mr. President,
8. As a re-elected member of the Human Rights Council for 2026–2028, Pakistan reaffirms its commitment to play a balanced, principled, and constructive role. We will continue to promote consensus-building, amplify the voice of the Global South, and uphold promotion of all human rights. As Coordinator of the OIC Group on Human Rights and Humanitarian Issues, Pakistan will continue to highlight human rights violations, including denial of right to self-determination and the alarming rise of Islamophobia.
Mr. President,
9. In this eightieth year of the United Nations, let us reaffirm our shared commitment to a human rights architecture that is universal, objective, adequately resourced, efficient, and inclusive.
I thank you.