Statement by

 Mr. Mohammad Ghorbanpour

First Secretary

Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations

On Agenda item 34 (a): Prevention of armed conflict

“the report of the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism to Assist in the Investigation and Prosecution of Persons Responsible for the Most Serious Crimes under International Law Committed in the Syrian Arab Republic since March 2011”

Before the UN General Assembly

New York, 21 April 2021

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

Mr. President,

The conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic has brought profound suffering and misery to this civilized Country and its people. The Islamic Republic of Iran condemns in the strongest terms all violations of international humanitarian Law and international human rights law in the Syrian territory. It is our unwavering and principled position that its perpetrators must be held accountable and face justice. Foreign terrorist fighters (FTF’s) in addition to those who have been involved in the deployment and facilitation of FTF’s transitions to Syria and those who have directly trained and equipped terrorists in this Country or assisted therein, furnished chemical weapons to terrorists and trained them in their use against civilians, the Governments occupying Syria and exploiting its natural resources and smuggling its oil and cultural heritage and all those who have intervened in the war-ravaged Country either militarily or by supporting terrorists in order to pursue and implement their corrupt policy of regime change must be held accountable for all the perpetual miseries they have reaped and sown within this Country and its people. Such efforts to bring them to justice are sought in order to prevent the repetition of the same scenarios elsewhere in the world and assure sustainable peace in this Country. Unlawful and inhuman unilateral coercive measures against Syria, as a crime against humanity, must be lifted immediately, and a Syrian-owned and Syrian-lead political process facilitated by the UN and Astana process should be encouraged.

Mr. President,

I would like to reiterate my delegation’s consistently held position, which is based on international law and the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, on the so-called International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism for Syria. My delegation rejects any politically motivated initiative and state-specific resolution which lacks the characteristics of non-selectivity as well as objectivity and deliberately ignores the guiding principles of sovereign equality, non-intervention in the internal affairs of states and prior consent of the concerned States as well as circumvents the primary responsibility of sovereign states in the investigation and prosecution of any crimes in their territory. Unfortunately, this so-called Mechanism was established through an exclusionary and non-transparent process without any consultation or coordination with the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic.

While the General Assembly adopted the un-consensual resolution 71/248 which unequivocally encroaches on the powers and jurisdictions of other UN bodies in creating a quasi-judicial mechanism in violation of Articles 10, 11, 12 and 22 of the UN Charter, the resolution itself ignores all fundamental principles of international law and the UN Charter. Therefore, this Mechanism could not be considered as a UN body in the context of Article 22 of UN Charter; it can neither benefit from UN privileges and immunities, nor should its ambiguous and non-transparent activities be financed by the UN budget. In this regard, this so-called Mechanism lacks the legitimacy to adhere in contract and cooperation with other UN bodies in order to receive their information. Furthermore, since its establishment has neither been with the Syrian Arab Republic’s prior consultation nor has the country’s clear consent been achieved by the UN, as well as the Mechanism manifestly has exceeded its mandates on the strength of the resolution 71/248; therefore, its findings, evidence and information are devoid of any credibility, legitimacy and legality to be used in any judicial system, whether they are international, regional or domestic.

Mr. President,

The lack of determination among the sponsors of this Mechanism to support the establishment of a similar Mechanisms from the same venue to address the daily commission of all four core heinous crimes in international law in Palestine and Yemen for more than seven decades and six years, respectively, on one hand and orchestrating several efforts in adopting different UN resolutions, holding GA meetings and establishing different commissions and mechanisms for the Syrian Arab Republic on the other hand are a clear manifestation of a narrow political agenda in the guise of a quest for justice and human rights. The recent developments in the International Criminal Court further exemplify how the rule of law is being defied, in one way or another, by the rule of power. Furthermore, those proponents of this Mechanism that refrain from repatriating the FTFs of their nationals from the Syrian Arab Republic for prosecution in their national courts are dishonest in their claims in the fight against impunity. Their position instead indicates that the establishment of this Mechanism is not supposed to be against terrorists but the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic itself in a broader and politically-motivated sense. 

Finally, Mr. President, let me once again reiterate that this Mechanism, as long as it disregards the UN Charter and international law, cannot be considered a legitimate source of evidence for judicial proceedings, including within international courts and tribunals. In this regard, my delegation rejects any exploitation of UN organs contrary to the principles of the UN Charter. We believe that such an initiative jeopardizes the credibility and integrity of the UN system as well as the rule of law and fails to instill peace and stability as well as promote and protect human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic.

Thank you