GENEVA, March 19: Pakistan on Friday called for a new approach to human rights which could take into account the negative impact of poverty, conflict, terrorism, violence, prejudice and bad governance on human rights.

Ambassador Shaukat Umer, Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the Untied Nations speaking on behalf of the OIC, at the UN Commission on Human Rights, said that the international human rights machinery was largely driven by political considerations, economic discrimination, double standards and lack of respect for cultural and religious diversity.

He proposed that democracy and good governance must also find equal resonance at the international level. Mr Umer expressed Muslim world's deep concern over the loss of tens of thousands of Muslim lives in conflict situation, vilifying Islam, religious and racial profiling of Muslims despite their concrete contribution to war against terrorism.

He reiterated the Islamic world's long-standing demand for enhanced representation in the office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights. He opposed integration of human rights in the mandate of the Untied Nations' country assessment and assistance programme, which he said must strictly be focused on development.

Mr Umer referred to the widespread discontentment over the role of the UN special mechanisms on human rights and called for review of their methods of work to make them more transparent and constructive.

He criticized the country-specific resolutions and Commission 1503 procedure as a source of confrontation. He stressed that the membership of the Commission on Human Rights should be restricted to the member states of the UN while the civil society should contribute in its deliberation within the current ECOSOS framework.

He cautioned that engaging Security Council in human rights issues would further aggravate the politicization of human rights agenda. -APP