Statement by

Mr. Naser Asiabi pourimani

Third Secretary

Ministry of foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Before the Sixth Committee, UNGA 76

on Agenda item 88: “Strengthening and promoting the international treaty framework”

New York, 15 October, 2021

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

Thank you, Madame Chairperson,

At the outset, my delegation would like to commend the Treaty Section for its vital role in the process of treaty registration as well as its assistance, with respect to the Secretary-General’s depositary functions.

Given the important role of treaties in international legal order based on international law, my delegation attaches great importance to the work of the Treaty Section of the Office of Legal Affairs for facilitating this goal as well as its contribution to the dissemination of international law and strengthening international legal order. Regarding the current agenda, we would like to share the following comments and observations. 

we believe that Article 102 of the UN Charter as well as the UN and States’ practices does not underlying that registration gives any legal value or legal status to the content of the registered instruments and its effectiveness.

The Islamic Republic of Iran welcomes the recognition of the role of depositaries other than the United Nations in the registration of treaties in Article 1 of the regulations to give effect to Article 102 of the Charter since our Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the depositary of a number of multilateral treaties.

 Madame Chairperson,

We thank the Secretary-General for his preparation of the report contained in document A/75/136 submitted pursuant to General Assembly resolution 73/210. My delegation expresses its readiness to discuss the potential methods and means aimed at strengthening the effectiveness of the Treaty Section, including on the basis of suggestions by Member States outlined in the report of the Secretary-General (A/75/136).

As per our statement delivered last year, we note the Secretary-General’s report indicating geographical disparity on treaty registration trends and patterns as well as numbers. Such a significant geographical disparity could be attributed to the limited awareness of the obligation to register as well as the lack of resources for the submission of treaties for registration. To address this situation, a revision of the regulations in force is vitally important so as to make registration easier, efficient, less bureaucratic, less costly and more simplified. The Sixth Committee has the potential to play an essential role in strengthening and promoting the international treaty framework through modifying and updating the existing regulations with a view to make them more efficient and more accessible to the Member States.

It is also crucial to consider additional measures through capacity-building and technical assistance, in particular the organization of workshops on treaty law and practice at the national and regional levels.

Madame Chairperson,

My delegation welcomes any functional proposal to provide the Secretariat with an additional tool to help reduce the time and costs involved in registering and publishing treaties, provided that it does not hamper the timely, widespread and unhampered accessibility of users to the registered instruments. This includes the amendments that adapt the regulations to developments in registration practice and information technology.

In the same vein, we also support the interest among a number of Member States for the regular review of the regulations giving effect to Article 102 of the Charter aimed at improving the UN Treaty Division’s functioning as well as meeting the objectives of Article 102, provided that it does not impair the Treaty Section’s straightforward functioning but facilitate it.

At the end, while we emphasizing multilingualism as a core value of the United Nations, my delegation reiterates the importance of the continued availability of the United Nations Treaty Series in English and French especially given that the aforementioned are the working languages of both the Secretariat and the International Court of Justice.

I thank you, Madame Chairperson.