HAMILTON, Canada

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday told the UN Security Council that the Palestinian cause is a defining test for the international community’s commitment to justice, law, and peace.

"The Palestinian question is a litmus test for the credibility of the UN, the Security Council and the integrity of the international law," said Dar during a council session on Palestine.

"Failure to uphold the rights of the Palestinian people will embolden impunity and undermine the legitimacy of the very international order we all claim to defend and uphold," he added.

Dar condemned the situation in the Gaza Strip, describing it as "not just a humanitarian catastrophe, but a collapse of humanity itself." He said the enclave has become "a graveyard for innocent lives, as well as for international law, particularly international humanitarian law."

He said the "systematic targeting of hospitals, schools, UN facilities, aid convoys, and refugee camps are not incidental. These are deliberate acts of collective punishment in flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, numerous Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, as well as the binding provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice."

Calling the hunger crisis in Gaza "unprecedented and deeply alarming," Dar outlined six concrete steps for the council to pursue urgently.

These included an "immediate, permanent, and unconditional ceasefire," unfettered humanitarian access, reinforced support for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, an end to forced displacement and settlement expansion, implementation of a reconstruction plan for Gaza, and "a genuine and time-bound political process" for a two-state solution.

He emphasized that restoring peace and justice "requires the revival of a credible political horizon" and urged the UN Security Council to act with unity and urgency.

Pakistan is also chairing the UN Security Council this month.