Statement by Mr. Mohammad Ghorbanpour

Third Counselor, Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations

“The responsibility to protect and the prevention of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity [item 132]”

New York – General Assembly

26 June 2023

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.

Mr. President.

                        I would like to align myself with the statement delivered by the distinguished representative of Venezuela on behalf of the Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations and would like to deliver the following in my national capacity:

The Islamic Republic of Iran reaffirms its unwavering commitment to the protection of its civilians and prevention of all atrocity crimes.

The Islamic Republic of Iran is of the strong view that the international community, notably the United Nations is still far from a consensual understanding of Responsibility to Protect as a notion. However, the controversies around this notion are not rooted in the protection of civilians and the prevention of the atrocity crimes, but rather on its definition, implementation, and scope of application. Furthermore, and the most important aspect that is a matter of serious legitimate concern for the international community, are the scenarios for the preparation of different kinds of interventions held in the internal affairs of sovereign States under the disguise of responsibility to protect as well as introducing country-specific resolutions with the same aims.

We also believe that the efforts to clarify the scope and implementation of this notion should not be carried out in a way to reinterpret or renegotiate the well-established principles of international law as enshrined in the UN Charter as well as other existing legal frameworks.

My delegation reiterates its longstanding position that the failure to effectively prevent atrocity crimes can be attributed more to the failures of the Security Council rather than due to the lack of a relevant normative framework. However, any attempt to divert the responsibilities of the Security Council to another UN body due to the Security Council’s failure to meet its responsibilities, including by providing noble interpretations of the articles of the UN Charter as well as non-consensual practices, is unequivocally rejected. Therefore, in fulfilling its responsibilities, the defined and agreed division of labor, distinct mandate and impartiality of the various United Nations main bodies must be respected. In this regard, we are strongly concerned about the encroachment by one organ to the mandates and duties of another which will undermine the very basic purposes of the establishment of the Organization.

Mr. President,

I would like to express the dissatisfaction of my delegation that the report of the Secretary-General contained in document A/77/910 does not address the main root causes of committing atrocity crimes, such as occupation, foreign military and non-military interventions in the internal affairs of States, and Unilateral Coercive Measures.

I would like to reiterate my delegation’s position that since at least 2005, a number of countries have raised their concerns and questions time and again regarding the new concept of the Responsibility to Protect, specifically regarding its scope and application as well as its occasional arbitrary interpretations.

It is necessary that those concerns are afforded vigilant attention and are considered within a report of the Secretary-General under this Agenda item. The United Nations should address all Member States’ positions and treat them equally. We should bear in mind that this is a new concept not an established principle, and it still needs to be considered by Member States.  

Mr. President,

Finally, it would be remiss of me if I did not mention the outstanding role of some mainstream medias in the hands of certain States and lobbies, along with their misusing and misinterpretation of the R2P concept, that willfully portray humanitarian situations while manipulating the realities on the ground. This nonconstructive role manifests in an exaggeration of particular situations while downgrading or censoring certain critical conditions. Furthermore, the destructive role of these medias provokes insurgencies and dissatisfaction among those within the targeted countries, specifically by fueling incitement to violence, identity-based hate speech as well as hate crimes, racism, racial discrimination while also calling attention to religious differences. Ultimately, these actions culminate into a provocation for the commission of violence and terrorism, as witnessed in many countries in the Middle East is a matter of concerns. While we warn on this malign practice, we fully have it under observation and scrutiny.

Thank you.