PTI Chairman Imran Khan letter to UNSG Ban Ki-moon Friday, 25 July 2014 13:46 | READ 12488 TIMES H E Mr Ban Ki-moon Secretary General United Nations First Ave at 46th Street New York, N.Y. 10017 USA Email: [email protected] Date: 25 July 2014 THE GAZA MASSACRE Excellency, I write to you as the Chairman of the second largest political party in Pakistan and on behalf of the Pakistani nation that has always been the lead nation in UN peacekeeping across the globe. We have been watching in shock and horror as the state of Israel has unleashed the massacre of Palestinians in Gaza during the Muslim Holy month of Ramazan and the UN has stood by as a silent spectator. The death toll of the Palestinians in Gaza has risen above 800 and the Israeli aggression continues. The residents of Gaza cannot seek escape as Egypt has kept its border with Gaza sealed. The Egyptian authorities have also prevented medical supplies from going in to Gaza and the UN has issued not a word of protest. Yet the UN’s primary responsibility is to maintain global peace and to prevent aggression. From the UN Charter’s preamble to Article 2:4 to Chapter V11, the UN has a duty to ensure that people are not persecuted and states do not aggress against other states and territories. The Office of Secretary General has a critical role to play in the maintenance of international peace and prevention of state aggression and war. Chapter XV Article 99 defines the special responsibility the SG has in this regard and Article 100.1 also calls on the SG not to be influenced by any state in the carrying out of his functions. The SG has to ensure the credibility of the UN in times of crises and war. At present the UN is undergoing a major challenge in terms of sustaining its institutional credibility. The massacre of innocent women, children, and elderly by the state of Israel cannot simply be ignored by the UN and by yourself as its SG. Nor can the Israeli aggression under false claims of “self defence” be ignored – especially by the UN and its SG. The UN Charter clearly circumscribes the notion of self-defence in Chapter VII and the ICJ Advisory Opinion on the Israeli Wall further countered the Israeli claims of self defence. How can the bombing of a hospital, a cemetery and a UN school be regarded as acts of self-defence? As the world watches Israel losing all sense of humanity and breaking all international norms of behaviour, it is the UN to which it looks for intervention. After the UN World Summit of 2005 the international community asserted the principle of the Right to Protect as part of humanitarian intervention. The primary responsibility for enforcing this rests with the UN and its SG. I call on you to immediately exercise this responsibility to prevent a genocide of the Palestinians in Gaza. As SG your actions will decide whether the UN is to remain credible as the harbinger of peace, the protector of the weak and the institution that ensures aggression remains unsuccessful around the globe. After all the UN was founded “to prevent future generations from the scourge of war”. It is up to you to ensure that the UN fulfills the mandate given to it by the comity of nations. My country has always been one of the prime supporters of the UN in its peace and security functions. My Party has justice and human dignity as underlying principles. We cannot now allow the UN to lose all credibility because one powerful state is allowing Israel to conduct aggression against Gaza with impunity. We have a right to demand that you as the SG enforce the UN Charter and play an active role in halting Israeli military aggression against the Palestinian population of Gaza. As SG you must also demand and ensure Egypt open its border with Gaza to allow medical assistance and essential supplies to go into Gaza. You have a duty to ensure that the plan of genocide of the Palestinians by the Israeli state is thwarted. It is time for you as the UNSG to fulfill this critical duty. Yours, Imran Khan Chairman PTI
Posted on: Sat, 26 Jul 2014 09:46:38 +0000
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