UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council on Tuesday unanimously adopted Pakistan-sponsored resolution urging member-states to take effective measures for the implementation of the Council’s resolutions for peaceful settlement of disputes —notably those involving Kashmir and Palestine.The Council took action on the resolution at a meeting, organized under the “Maintenance of international peace and security” agenda item, that highlighted concerning trends of protracted and unresolved disputes threatening international peace and security, and calling for reinforced collective efforts to address them — one of the two signature events proposed by Pakistan under its presidency of the world body’s power centre.The Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Senator Ishaq Dar, who especially came to New York over the weekend to preside over the high-level event, put the resolution to vote, and then banged the gravel confirming its adoption. The outcome reflected Pakistan’s leadership role in spearheading adoption of a resolution by the Council – a reflection of effective diplomacy in action.Tuesday’s meeting was convened to debate “Promoting International Peace and Security through Multilateralism and the Peaceful Settlement of Disputes”.UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who opened the debate, commended DPM/FM Dar for convening the debate and for utilizing the Council’s presidency to put forward a resolution urging all Member States to make full use of the tools in collective pursuit of global peace, saying “This is needed now more than ever.”Analysts say no crisis illustrates the gap between words and action better than the Council’s resolution of April 21, 1948, which called for a plebiscite, to be held under the UN auspices, to allow the people in the disputed region of Jammu and Kashmir to determine their own future.Under the terms of the resolution, the Security Council urged all member-states to utilize effectively the mechanisms for pacific settlement of disputes as outlined in Article 33 of the United Nations Charter. These include negotiation, enquiry, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement, resort to regional agencies or arrangements, or other peaceful means of their own choice.“Around the world,” the UN Secretary-General said in his remarks, “we see an utter disregard for — if not outright violations of — international law — including international human rights law, international refugee law, international humanitarian law, and the UN Charter itself, without any accountability.“These failures to uphold international obligations are coming at a time of widening geopolitical divides and conflicts,” with staggering costs — measured in human lives, shattered communities, and lost futures, Guterres said.“We need look no further than the horror show in Gaza — with a level of death and destruction without parallel in recent times.”