Explanation of Vote of the Islamic Republic of Iran

On Draft Resolution L.13: “Developments in the field of information and telecommunications in the context of international security, and Advancing responsible state behavior in the use of ICTs”

Before the First Committee, UNGA 76

New York, 1 November 2021

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

Mr. Chairman, 

I have taken the floor to explain the position of my delegation on draft resolution L.13 entitled “Developments in the field of information and telecommunications in the context of international security, and Advancing responsible state behavior in the use of ICTs”.

Iran has been the victim of a number of malicious acts in cyberspace, including the 2010 Stuxnet malware attacks against its critical infrastructure, by the US and Israel which have risen since 2010. We believe that this Committee is in a best position to address this irresponsible behavior.

Since 1998, the Islamic Republic of Iran has remained a member of the first committee's consensus on the process of addressing advancements in the field of ICTs in the context of international security. This was despite the fact that we had severe doubts about how the GGEs were set up and run. In 2018, following five rounds of GGEs, Resolution 73/27 established the OEWG, the UN's first-ever inclusive multilateral intergovernmental process, to continue to address the issue with the whole UN membership on board. Iran fully participated in all of the first OEWG's debates and enthusiastically supported the creation of a new OEWG based on Resolution 75/240, with the purpose of addressing the concerns of the entire membership.

As a matter of principle, Iran has consistently demanded that the parallelism in terms of two groups (OEWG and GGE) and two resolutions be ended. In our opinion, the OEWG, as the most inclusive existing vehicle, has a clear mandate, requires independence, and does not require reliance on the GGEs' disputed conclusions.

Having said that, we will join the consensus to accept this draft resolution in the spirit of flexibility and collaboration. We will support the draft resolution if it pursues and expands on the views and positions of all member states, and no member state should be left behind. We would like to state for the record that my delegation does not agree with the references to the GGE and its reports, though those reports and recommendations contained therein, are voluntary. Iran expects that the issue will be accordingly reviewed and rectified both in the current OEWG and also in the next draft resolution when the it is tabled again.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.