Qusay Al-Dahhak says Syria opposed a ‘Pact for the Future’ adopted by member states on Sunday, because its plans for UN reforms do not go far enough NEW YORK CITY: Syria said it voted against a “Pact for the Future,” which was adopted by a majority of UN member states on Sunday, on the grounds that it does not go far enough in terms of plans to reform the organization. The pact, which received the backing of 143 of 193 member states in the vote, aims to rebuild trust in the UN and its ability to tackle global crises. But Qusay Al-Dahhak, Syria’s permanent representative to the UN told delegates attending the “Summit for the Future” at the organization’s headquarters in New York on Monday that its mechanisms and systems need to evolve away from serving the “narrow interests” of a handful of Western states. He said the brighter future desired by those who backed the pact, one that best serves all member states and their peoples, would only be achieved through “radical change.” “(This will require) some Western countries to abandon the mentality of the past and their ambitions of hegemony and colonization,” Al-Dahhak said. Though he did not name any specific Western states, he said that they should “cease attempting to impose their will on other peoples and respect their independent, national choices.” He denounced the “illegal measures” he said have been taken by the West that have deprived Syrians of their future, undermined their legitimate choices and prevented them from accessing their own national wealth, but said Syrians are nonetheless “determined to move forward and build their own future.” The US, the EU, Canada, Australia and Switzerland imposed sanctions on Syria in response to the actions of President Bashar Assad and his regime since the start of the civil war in the country in 2011. Al-Dahhak said his country looks forward to a future based on dialog and diplomacy between nations, and on the promotion of multilateral action and the upholding of the principles of the UN Charter, which he said will not be best served by the pact in its current form. “Hence the need to take immediate and serious measures to develop multilateral mechanisms and structures and to reinforce them to strengthen re-participation away from the policies of exclusion and the narrow interests of some Western states,” he added. The envoy also condemned the “ongoing Israeli occupation of Arab territories in Palestine, Syria and Lebanon” and Israel’s continued “acts of aggression, crimes of genocide and ethnic cleansing,” which he said amounted to a “grave violation of international law and the principles and purposes of the UN Charter.” Referencing the pact agreed on Sunday, he said transgressions by Israeli authorities also represent a major obstacle and hinder access to the “common future we all seek.” He said there was a need to unite and intensify the UN efforts to confront Israel’s regional aggression and its occupation of land belonging to other states. Al-Dahhak also vowed Syria would join other nations in calling for reforms of global financial institutions to “guarantee participation of developing countries in the global economic decision making,” which he said would help to alleviate global debt.