Pakistan\u2019s Ambassador to the United Nations, Munir Akram, has called for strengthening the U.N., saying the world body remains the best hope for an equal and peaceful world in the future, but said it lacked the power to make the much-needed changes.<\/p>\n
Speaking as panelist at an event being attended by youth leaders from around the world, he said the Security Council was an unequal body, the General Assembly has no binding powers, while the powers of finance lie in Washington and trade in Geneva.<\/p>\n
\u201cTherefore,\u201d the Pakistani envoy said, \u201cwe need to strengthen this body \u2014 the United Nations \u2014 and the General Assembly if we are going to change the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I hope that all of you, as young people, will strive within your countries to do everything possible to strengthen the United Nations \u2014 in every way possible \u2014 because that is when we will be able to listen and implement the wishes of the generation of the future\u201d<\/p>\n
Ambassador Akram was addressing the opening session of \u2018Future We Want\u2019 Model UN: Global Initiative for young leaders at United Nations Headquarters in New York.<\/p>\n
He said the progress towards achieving world peace over the past 78 years was partial was \u201cpartial.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have resolved conflicts, we have made progress in science and technology, in prosperity,\u201d Ambassador Akram said but it was incomplete and unequal.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd therefore, we are faced with a world today whose hallmark, whose largest characteristic,\u201d he said was inequality between the powerful and the weak, the rich and the poor, and the privileged and the destitute.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd this inequality is writ large in every field that you see today and therefore, the purpose that we should seek \u2014 our central purpose \u2013has to be how to promote equality in all spheres of life in the future,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is a responsibility that will fall on your shoulders, and shoulders of your contemporaries in everyone of our countries,\u201d the Pakistani envoy said told young leaders.<\/p>\n
Ambassador Akram also highlighted the issues relating to climate change, peace and security, and development.<\/p>\n
He called for addressing at least six areas simultaneously.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirstly, the peace agenda: We need to address the threat of nuclear annihilation we face it today, as much as we did in the Cold War. We need to control the arms race where expenditures are at the highest level in the history of the United Nations,\u201d<\/p>\n
Earlier, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made brief introductory remarks.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnited Nations is the world\u2019s shared platform for action and the sustainable development,\u201d the UN chief said, noting, \u201cGoals are the blueprint for dignity, peace and prosperity for all on a healthy planet.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour voices are essential to promote understanding, fight intolerance and build a better world,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Among others, the Director of the Outreach Division UN Department of Global Communications Maher Nasser, and ambassadors of some other missions, including Canada, Portugal, Philippines, and Guyana, also spoke<\/p>\n
\u2018Future We Want Model United Nations,\u201d is committed to promoting a united international community and a more sustainable world through the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with key focus on 17 SDGs that mention the youth and education.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pakistan\u2019s Ambassador to the United Nations, Munir Akram, has called for strengthening the U.N., saying the world body remains the best hope for an equal and peaceful world in the future, but said it lacked the power to make the much-needed changes. Speaking as panelist at an event being attended by youth leaders from around […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":298839,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[2437],"class_list":{"0":"post-326020","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-munir-akram"},"yoast_head":"\n