On October 20, Pakistani representative Munawar Saeed...

On October 20, Pakistani representative Munawar Saeed Bhatti, speaking at the Third Committee of the General Assembly on item 107, crime prevention and criminal justice, said that maintenance of societal peace and law and order through an effective crime prevention and criminal justice system is a primary responsibility of national governments. He specifically mentioned the choice of some countries to abolish death penalty from their domestic legislation. "It is their sovereign right to take their own decisions," he said. "In the same spirit we expect those countries to respect the choice of other countries to enact legislation suitable to their national conditions to combat crime and punish criminals. We should scrupulously avoid the temptation to impose our own set of values on other cultures and societies. Such efforts invariably evoke resentment, as they smack of a patronizing mind-set."