Statement by
Mr. Ali Hajilari
First Counselor
Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations
On “FfD Forum, Panel V on Illicit Financial Flows”
At the ECOSOC
NEW York, 15 April 2021
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Mr. President,
The Islamic Republic of Iran highly values the key function that the FfD could potentially play in achieving the SDGs. At the same time, we strongly believe that the right to development and its full realization serves the best interests of the international community. Unfortunately, today, the right to development has been heavily sacrificed to the narrow interest of the blind unilateralism.
Mr. President,
In Iran, we encounter serious obstacles on our way towards development, such as COVID-19, natural disasters, land degradation, desertification and sand and dust storms, among others. Regional threats and insecurity caused by foreign-sponsored terrorism, extremism and violence hamper our efforts. Our people are also subjected to the most brutal form of “economic and health terrorism”— deliberately targeting innocent civilians to achieve illegitimate political objectives. The unlawful extraterritorial economic sanctions imposed on Iran by the United States in violation of Security Council resolution 2231 represent the greatest threat to the lives of innocent people as well as the achievement of SDGs in my Country.
Mr. President,
Regarding the subject under discussion today, the Islamic Republic of Iran is determined to fight money laundering and illicit financial flows, and in this regard, several policies and measures have been implemented at the National level but despite all efforts, it is still on a politically-motivated black list of a non-UN initiative namely FATF.
The Islamic Republic of Iran, which suffers from the heaviest and most unprecedented illegal and illegitimate unilateral sanctions to date, is also facing problems due to being blacklisted.
It should be noted that the simultaneous imposition of unilateral sanctions and coercive measures on the one hand and harassments such as FATF blacklist which completes the puzzle of the illegal sanctions by the US on the other hand have led to a more complicated situation.
In conclusion, we believe that instead of different biased, politicized, non-transparent black lists of non-UN initiatives, all processes of combating illicit financial flows and money laundering should be under the umbrella of the United Nations in an inclusive, transparent multilateral intergovernmental framework and based on the full participation of all countries.
I thank you, Mr. President.