United Nations, June 19, 2025(Kamran Raja): Highlighting the correlation of development and sustainable peace with human rights, Pakistan has stated that poverty, exclusion, inequality, and the denial of fundamental rights are not just development concerns; rather they are among the deep-rooted structural causes of conflict. While delivering a national statement during UN Security Council Open Debate on Poverty, Under-development ad Conflict: Implications for the Maintenance of International Peace and Security, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN, said that without addressing these underlying drivers, peace efforts will remain incomplete, fragile and short-lived.He said that the world today is witnessing growing insecurity, deepening inequalities, and reversals in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. He emphasized that the burden of these challenges falls disproportionately on the Global South, adding that rising debt, climate stress, hunger and deprivation continue to fuel instability in many parts of the world. While stating that the Security Council has long acknowledged the peace–development nexus, Ambassador Asim said that the Council must continue to ensure that this understanding is integrated more fully into its work.
He made the following key points:
• Address root causes of conflict like foreign occupation, discrimination, and denial of self-determination through consistent application of international law.
• Focus on conflict prevention through diplomacy and a system-wide approach beyond military solutions.
• Integrate development into peacekeeping by collaborating with ECOSOC, the Peacebuilding Commission, and UN agencies.
• Customize responses to local contexts, supporting national governments in addressing poverty and underdevelopment.
• Strengthen institutional partnerships with regional organizations like the AU, EU, OIC, and ASEAN for effective conflict resolution.
The Pakistan UN Ambassador said that we cannot speak of lasting peace without addressing the structural conditions that undermine development. He deplored that developing countries are being held back by unjust global economic structures, stating that they are burdened by unsustainable debt, hunger and worsening climate shocks.
He said that despite their resources and wealth, developing countries are often at the receiving end of the scramble and exploitation of resources that favours the developed world.
“Many are trapped in unfair and inequitable global systems that perpetuate poverty and under-development,” he highlighted.
He said that the world needs $4.2 trillion annually to meet the SDGs, arguing that this is achievable — if there is political will. He proposed the steps to achieve these objectives:
• Additional issuance of, and further Rechanneling of Special Drawing Rights;
• Recapitalization and Strengthening of Multilateral Development Banks;
• Fulfillment of ODA and climate finance commitments;
• Equitable and timely resolution of debt crisis;
• Fair, development oriented trade policies, and;
• Just international taxation systems
Ambassador Asim hoped that the upcoming Financing for Development Conference (FFD4) will be a critical moment to take bold, practical actions for a meaningful way forward – to keep the development engine strong and running.
“As we approach the 80th anniversary of the UN Charter, we must renew our collective commitment to its founding vision — a world built on peace, development, and human dignity. The Secretary-General’s “UN80” initiative offers another opportunity to build on earlier reforms, advance the implementation of the Pact for the Future, reinvigorate multilateralism and make the UN more effective, inclusive, and responsive,” he said.
Ambassador Asim said that we must not allow poverty to continue sowing the seeds of conflict.
He said that building lasting peace means building societies where every individual has the opportunity to live in dignity, free from want and fear.
He proposed the geo-political divisions need to be set aside to arrest the downward slide and reverse this trend by pooling our collective resources for sustainable peace and development.