Statement by
H. E. Ms. Zahra Ershadi
Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative
of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations
Before the Sixth Committee, UNGA 77
On Agenda Item 168: “Report of the Committee on Relations with the Host Country”
New York, 7 November 2022
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.
Mr. Chairperson,
At the outset, I would like to align myself with the statements delivered on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement and the Group of Friends in Defence of the Charter of the United Nations, respectively, and deliver the following in my national capacity.
Hosting the UN Headquarters is a privilege in and of itself. In this respect, while the UN Headquarters is located in their territory, the Host Countries are expected to provide an environment that enables the UN to fully and efficiently discharge its responsibilities to the best of its capabilities. Furthermore, Host Countries are obligated to create a composed environment for Missions accredited to the UN in order to ensure that said Missions are able to carry out their normal activities. This includes adequate access to the UN Headquarters, travel and transit to and within the Host Countries as well as prompt issuance of visas. All aforementioned obligations are based on relevant international instruments, including the Headquarters Agreements as well as the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961), without the involvement of bilateral political considerations between Member States and the relevant Host Country.
My delegation extends its gratitude to the Chair of the Committee on Relations with the Host Country and appreciates the Secretary-General for his report contained in document A/77/26.
According to the report which reflected several meetings of the Committee on relations with the Host Country, outstanding issues such as visa restrictions, travel and movement restrictions, security of missions and their personnel, property of a mission and banking issues all still exist unresolved. The application of Section 21 of the Headquarters Agreement is among the issues that have yet to be triggered by the Secretary-General.
As I mentioned last year within this Committee, among the lengthy problems faced by my Mission and its Iranian representatives, the three mile-radius movement restriction in January 2021, which was reverted back to the 25 mile-radius movement restriction that was implemented prior to 2019, is an obvious example of discrimination against my delegation. However, while taking note of this action by the Host Country as a promising step to resolve all other problems and remove the remaining outstanding restrictions and obstacles, my delegation does not recognise it as a progressive development and fundamental change in the latter’s behaviour towards abiding by its responsibilities under the Headquarters Agreement and other relevant instruments. It is those same restrictions, both arbitrary and discriminatory in nature, that still exist contrary to the Host Country’s obligations. With that in mind, my delegation believes the unresolved cases before the Host Committee represent a systematic policy of discriminatory application of the Headquarters Agreement against certain Member States.
In this regard, it would be remiss of me to forgo addressing the concerns we have held which were previously brought up in the Host Country Committee regarding the carrying out secondary security screenings of Iranian Diplomats. We urge the Host Country to respect its international obligations under the Headquarters Agreements as well as the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations to preserve the dignity of Iranian representatives en route to the United Nations. In this regard, we welcome the Committee on Relations with the Host Country’s request for the Host Country to ensure that diplomats transiting to and from United Nations Headquarters are treated respectfully.
Mr. Chairperson,
Invocation of humanitarian exemptions by the Host Country’s representatives to grant the occasional releasing of restrictions on Missions or providing some facilities for their activities before the UN does not exonerate this Country’s intrinsic obligations to abide by its responsibilities under the relevant instruments.
We also reject the unsubstantiated and excessive use of “security issues” for the justification of imposing different forms of restrictions on some specific Missions. It is not only contrary to the Host Country’s obligations but also assaultive to the targeted Missions and their representatives that are, in reality, respecting the Headquarters Agreement’s provisions as well as the Host Country’s internal rules and regulations.
Furthermore, taking into account the absolute illegality of unilateral coercive measures and where the perpetrator of such inhumane and unlawful measures is the Host Country of the UN Headquarters in NYC, it is therefore incumbent upon the Host Country to fully realize its obligations under the Headquarters Agreement in order to refrain from imposing any form of sanctions which, in any way, shape or form whatsoever, disrupt or constitute as an impediment to the normal activities of Member States before the United Nations.
Mr. Chairperson,
As an undisputable rule, there is no room for the application of measures based on reciprocity in its treatment accorded to permanent missions accredited to the UN by the Host Country. In this regard, I would like to reemphasize the position of the UN Legal Counsel contained in paragraph 191 of document A/75/26.
Mr. Chairperson,
We welcome the recommendation of the Host Committee to the Secretary-General this year to consider and take the appropriate steps under Section 21. There is no doubt that the Secretary-General not only has the discretion but also the obligation to trigger said Mechanism in the Headquarters Agreement towards implementing three consecutive UN General Assembly resolutions in order to preserve the credibility, independence and functionality of our Organization.
I thank you.