Speakers at an informal meeting of the UN Security Council Tuesday called for stronger monitoring, reporting, and non-selective implementation of the 15-member Council’s decisions to help restore global confidence in it.
Hosted by China and Pakistan, the session on “Bridging the Implementation Gap: Security Council Resolutions and the Maintenance of International Peace and Security” highlighted that delayed or selective compliance adversely affects the Council’s credibility.
“A Security Council resolution is not an end in itself; It is a promise of action, a legal obligation, and a measure of the international community’s resolve,” said Pakistan UN Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad and Co- Chair of the meeting held under Arria-Formula format named after a former Venezuelan Ambassador to the UN, Diego Arriva.
Arria-Formula meetings are informal, enabling Security Council members to have a frank and private exchange of views on relevant subjects.
“If implemented, it (a resolution) can prevent war, settle disputes, protect civilians and restore faith in rule of law,” the Pakistani envoy went on to say. “If ignored and unimplemented, it becomes evidence, not of peace pursued, but of responsibility deferred and peace and security denied, and imperilled.”
On his part, Chinese Ambassador Fu Cong emphasized the legal authority of Security Council resolutions and the responsibility of all Member States to implement them in good faith and without double standards.
“Non-implementation or delayed implementation undermines the authority of the UN and international law”, he said.
Ambassador FU urged the Council to bridge the implementation gap by focusing on dialogue, mediation, and de-escalation rather than rushing to punitive measures or exacerbating conflicts.
Security Council members and a large number of member states and experts took part in the discussion which centered on how the “full, faithful, timely and non-selective” application of the Council resolutions is vital for maintaining international peace.
Several participants argued that delayed, partial, or selective execution of Council mandates reflects double standards and directly damages the UN’s credibility. They pushed for practical measures to enforce accountability, including more frequent periodic reviews and tracking mechanisms for unimplemented resolutions.
At the outset, the meeting was briefed by UN Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari, the Executive Director of Security Council Report, Shamala Kandiah, and the International Crisis Group representative, Richard Gowan.
The briefers emphasized that implementation lies at the heart of the Council’s credibility, authority and effectiveness. They underlined that resolutions must be accompanied by realistic mandates, clear implementation pathways, sustained reporting, adequate resources, political will, and follow-up mechanisms capable of translating Council decisions into practical action on the ground.
In his opening remarks, Ambassador Asim Ahmad, the Pakistani envoy, also brought into sharp focus the unresolved Kashmir dispute and the Palestine question.In doing so, he said that selective or prolonged non-implementation weakens the Council’s authority, prolongs unresolved disputes and deepens human suffering, including in situations such as in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and Palestine.
His remarks on Kashmir drew a response from the Indian Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish who claimed that Jammu and Kashmir was part of India and was therefore an internal matter.
Ambassador Asim Ahmad hit back, insisting Jammu and Kashmir was an internationally-recognized disputed territory. “It is on the agenda of the Security Council– it was never part of India, and it is not and cannot be part of India.”
In his earlier remarks, the Pakistani envoy proposed practical measures, including an annual review of unimplemented and partially implemented resolutions, clearer implementation pathways, stronger follow-up on Chapter VI (enforcement) resolutions, and better alignment of the Secretary-General’s good offices, peace operations and regional arrangements with Council decisions.
The speakers reaffirmed that the Council must not only adopt resolutions but also ensure that its decisions are carried forward with consistency, objectivity and resolve.
By jointly convening this timely discussion, China and Pakistan reaffirmed their shared commitment to multilateralism, the authority of the Security Council, and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.