KARACHI, April 22: Despite losing moral authority to maintain international peace in the wake of American unilateralism and aggression on Iraq, in blatant violation of the UN charter, the resident representative of the UNDP in Pakistan believes the world body is still relevant and can play humanitarian role in crisis-ridden areas.

Speaking at the Pakistan Institute of International Affairs on “Humanitarian Mandate of the UN” here on Monday, Onder Yucer, the Resident Representative of the UNDP, said: “The UN, its laws and conventions, adopted under its aegis and their ratification, are most pertinent to deal with all humanitarian issues in the conflict.”

“Similarly, all international laws, in the wake of hostilities by allied forces against a weaker and sovereign country, remain intact, valid and applicable, including treatment of civilian and army prisoners under the Geneva Convention,” he emphasized.

He referred to various projects in countries where a vast majority lived in the grip of poverty, hunger, illiteracy and disease.

He was of the view that the UN was still a unique platform for developing countries to negotiate development issues.

The resident representative of the UNDP said that the financial resource base of the UN system was modest compared to the scale of development challenges facing the developing world.

He claimed that the humanitarian mandate of the United Nations was complimentary to the development mandate.