NEW YORK:Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Maleeha Lodhi said that ethnic, tribal and religious tensions along with the issue of economic and political injustice needed to be addressed in order to achieve a sustainable peace in a world that is marred by conflict.
Meleeha made these comments at a high-level dialogue titled “Building Sustainable Peace for All”. Maleeha said that building a sustainable peace is a vital and formidable challenge that cannot be overcome unless and until the root causes of conflict were addressed. Maleeha elaborated that these causes included poverty; environmental degradation; political and economic injustice; ethnic, tribal and religious tensions, external interference, intervention and longstanding political disputes.
Maleeha also emphasised the nexus between peace, development and justice, reminding the audience that the establishment of peaceful, just and inclusive societies was a goal of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
She underscored the link between development and peace and said, “Development and peace reinforce and strengthen these interlinked objectives. Indeed there can be no development without peace, and no peace without development.”
Maleeha maintained that the availability of adequate resources was a critical challenge for the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). She also raised the problem of raising trillions of dollars for the realization of SDGs.
The ambassador said that entities working for political stability and security and development needed to support each other for the achievement of sustainable peace. She deemed this a comprehensive activity requiring a holistic approach that builds a bridge between development, peace and security to human rights.
Maleeha said that the achievement of the 2030 agenda was necessary for a peaceful and prosperous world. She added that adequate financial resources, political support and efficient management and coordination by UN organs concerned were pivotal to the fulfillment of this ambitious dream.
She concluded by expressing Pakistan’s commitment to these international obligations.
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