Dar calls for ‘more democratic’ UN Security Council amid global crises

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Friday called for a “more democratic, representative and accountable” United Nations Security Council (UNSC), warning that unilateralism and selective application of international law undermine global stability.

Speaking at a meeting of the Friends of Global Governance at the United Nations, Dar said the international community was facing “multiple and interconnected crises”, including conflicts, climate emergencies, food insecurity and governance challenges linked to new technologies.

“In this uncertain environment, the world urgently needs renewed solidarity and a more effective system of global governance rooted in the purposes and principles of the UN Charter,” he said.

The meeting, hosted by China, focused on reforming and improving global governance and addressing global challenges through multilateral cooperation.

Dar criticized what he described as a weakening of faith in collective action. “At the same time, faith in collective action is eroding, with unilateralism and the selective application of international law undermining global stability,” he said.

The Foreign Secretary called for reform of the UN Security Council, saying that smaller and medium-sized states should have greater representation.

“The UN Security Council must become more democratic, representative and accountable,” he said. “The small and medium-sized states, which make up the vast majority of UN members, must be fully and adequately represented in the Security Council.”

He also opposed expanding the council’s permanent membership, arguing that “adding new permanent members would violate the fundamental principle of sovereign equality and make the council even less representative,” he said.

Dar reaffirmed Pakistan’s support for multilateralism, describing it as “not an abstract aspiration but a principled commitment rooted in cooperation and collective responsibility”.

Read: Chinese Premier Wang Yi reiterates his appreciation for Pakistan’s constructive role amid US-Iran talks in meeting with Dar

He quoted Pakistan’s founder, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, as saying, “Pakistan will never be found wanting in upholding the principles of the United Nations Charter.”

The foreign minister also praised China’s role in international affairs and supported President Xi Jinping’s Global Governance Initiative. “Pakistan deeply values ​​China’s role as a stabilizing force in international affairs,” he said while describing Pakistan and China as “iron brothers and all-weather strategic partners”.

Dar said the Chinese initiative represented “a timely, comprehensive and forward-looking framework to address the governance deficiencies of our time”. He added that Pakistan fully supported the initiative, which he said reinforced “the centrality of the United Nations while advocating greater representation and voice for the Global South”.

The foreign minister said Pakistan believes international law must be “applied uniformly and without double standards”. “The sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states must be respected,” he said. “Cooperation rather than confrontation should be the default setting in international relations.”

Dar also called for disputes to be resolved through “dialogue and diplomacy” and said people living under foreign occupation should be allowed to exercise their right to self-determination “in accordance with international law and relevant UN resolutions”.

Concluding his remarks, Dar said Pakistan would continue to work with China and other international partners to promote “lasting peace and stability throughout the world”.

Read more: FM Dar visits US Minister Rubio in Washington after the UN Security Council engagement in New York

The Deputy Prime Minister visited New York at the invitation of FM Yi to participate in the UN Security Council (UNSC) Open Debate on “Maintaining International Peace and Security: Upholding the Purposes and Principles of the UN Charter and Strengthening the UN-Centered International System”.

The debate was held on May 26 under China’s presidency of the Security Council, which called for restraint and de-escalation in the Middle East and warned that another protracted conflict would endanger regional peace and further strain the fragile international order.

During the open debate, he said the principle of peaceful resolution must apply equally to all protracted disputes on the Security Council’s agenda, referring to ongoing efforts to achieve a solution to the Iran-US conflict.

“The whole world is watching. We must succeed in the interest of regional and global peace and security,” Dar told the 15-member Security Council. “As a friendly neighbor to Iran and brotherly countries in the Gulf, Pakistan consistently stands for restraint, de-escalation and a return to diplomacy.”

Dar said that during his recent visit to Beijing, Pakistan and China had announced a five-point initiative for peace and stability in the Gulf and Middle East and warned that another conflict would pose a serious threat not only to the region but to the wider world.

“Another prolonged conflict would serve no one,” the foreign minister warned. “It would endanger regional peace, disrupt global energy flows, exacerbate humanitarian suffering and strain an already fragile international order.”