Statement by

Mr. Mohammad Ghorbanpour

First Secretary

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

Before the Sixth Committee, UNGA 76

On Agenda Item 81: “United Nations Programme of Assistance in the Teaching, Study, Dissemination and Wider Appreciation of International Law”

New York, 21 October 2021

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

Madam Chairperson,

At the outset, allow me to extend my sincerest thanks to the Secretary-General and the Codification of Division of the Office of Legal Affairs for the preparation of the report entitled “United Nations Programme of Assistance in the Teaching, Study, Dissemination and Wider Appreciation of International Law” contained in document A/76/404.

There is no doubt that this programme has a profound role in promoting common understandings from international legal order based on international law. The Regional Courses and Fellowship Programme provide a valuable venue for participants to exchange their views, share experiences and ideas as well as improve intercultural understanding and dialogue. As a platform for dialogue, it also greatly contributes to capacity building, particularly in developing countries.

Considering the purposes and objectives of this Programme, my delegation’s observations and recommendations on the activities of the Programme and its future work are as follows:

• On lecturers: as gender parity and geographical representation among participants have been taken into account by the organizers of the courses and fellowships, geographical representation among the lecturers should also be taken into account. Lecturers should be the representation of all the principal legal systems of the world;
• On courses’ curriculum: the synergies between International Law and International Relations should be established as one of the permanent curriculums of the seminars. Lecturers must elaborate on the theories of international relations and how such relations can be developed based on international law. International law shouldn’t be used as an instrument in the hands of politicians for purposes other than implementing the rule of law anymore.
• On the Participants: there is a strong belief that the participants in the courses and the fellowships should be among the future decision-makers of their countries as much as possible. It certainly helps to assure bilateral and multilateral relations based on the rule of law in the international community; and
• On UN capabilities: the UN is one of the main sources for the development, codification, and dissemination of international law. The UN digital library and the Yearbook of the United Nations are two of the most valuable repositories containing a multitude of works collected and examined by the UN over the course of its history. This capacity should therefore be introduced appropriately. The United Nations Information Centers based in the Member States are fundamental tools to introduce those valuable resources as well as the dissemination of international law that can take into account the vast linguistic diversity.

I thank you.