Statement by
Mr. Heidar Ali Balouji
First Counselor
Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations
At the First Committee, UNGA 76
On “Regional Security; Other Disarmament Measures and International Security; and UN Disarmament Machinery”
New York, 18 October 2021
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.
Mr. Chairman,
My delegation associates itself with the NAM statement delivered by Indonesia. We will submit separate statements on each cluster later on.
Mr. Chairman,
Security and stability in the Middle East region and the Persian Gulf sub-region are of the utmost importance for the region and beyond. Iran has steadily supported this public good and has offered a number of proposals to strengthen the security in the region. We stand by those initiatives which have evolved to respond to the exact security need of the region. Our first proposal in 1985 became the foundation of paragraphs 5 and 8 of Security Council Resolution 598. Regrettably—and despite our persistent follow-ups—those paragraphs remain unimplemented.
Our region has since witnessed the scene of several wars, massive foreign military buildups, the ensuing nightmare of extremism and terrorism, the dangerous accumulation of the most sophisticated weaponry as well as aggression and power projections by various actors.
In fact, three flawed prescriptions, namely, purchase of security from others, having security at the expense of the insecurity of other neighbors, and establishing regional hegemony have all resulted in catastrophic consequences.
The U.S. military presence in the region—7,600 miles from its shores— culminated in the cowardly assassination of General Qassem Soleimani, Daesh’s Enemy No.1, by President Trump.
Unsurprisingly, the USA is the number one arms seller to some regional countries.
In this context, the Israeli regime relies on military aid from the US as well as the aggressive military establishment it has created which is a chronic source of insecurity in the region and beyond.
Mr. Chairman,
Iran supports the ICTs as humanity's common heritage which must be used exclusively for peaceful purposes. Irresponsible use of this technology by States or non-state actors, including terrorist groups, surely poses serious threats to the world’s security and stability.
The U.S. has not only started militarizing cyberspace, but it has also begun carrying out multiple cyberattacks. The Israeli regime has also launched many cyber-attacks against Iran. Both should be held accountable.
In this situation, the establishment of the new inclusive OEWG, based on resolution 75/240 with a clear mandate and under the UN auspices hopefully will accommodate concerns of the whole membership.
This task can be realized through the settlement of the unresolved issues from the previous OEWG, developing further international legal norms and rules, and finally developing a legally binding instrument.
Mr. Chairman,
Iran reaffirms the absolute validity of multilateral diplomacy in the field of disarmament and non-proliferation.
The CD is the single multilateral disarmament negotiating body the role and mandate of which should be strengthened, especially by the resumption of its substantive work. The major problem of the UN Disarmament Machinery, in particular the CD, is the “lack of genuine political will” on the part of certain Nuclear-Weapon-States and their advocates that are unwilling to agree on a balanced and comprehensive program of work to deal with all issues on an equal footing.
Emphasizing the vital importance and continued validity of the Final Document of the SSOD-I, we strongly support the early commencement of negotiations in the CD on the comprehensive nuclear weapons convention.
Regretfully, the current cycle of the UNDC has been subject to the politicized approach. Additionally, the frequent and continuous negative votes of the US and Israel in the First Committee are not only damaging the valued practice of consensual decision making in this august body but also prove their maligned approach towards disarmament.
Furthermore, the US’ arbitrary compliance reports on Arms Control, Nonproliferation, and Disarmament Agreements are undermining the authority of relevant instruments.
I thank you!