UNITED NATIONS : A committee of the UN General Assembly has unanimously passed a Pakistan-sponsored resolution reaffirming that the universal realization of the right of peoples to self-determination was a fundamental condition for the effective guarantee and observance of human rights.

The resolution, co-sponsored by 72 countries, was adopted without a vote in the 193-member Assembly's Third Committee, which deals with Social, humanitarian and cultural issues.

Political observers say the resolution, which Pakistan has been tabling since 1981, serves to focus the world's attention on the struggle by peoples for their inalienable right to self-determination, including those in Kashmir and Palestine.

The resolution is expected to come up for General Assembly's endorsement next month.