Statement by

Mr. Mohammad Sadegh Talebizadeh Sardari

Delegate of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Before The Sixth Committee of the 77th Session of the UNGA

on Agenda item 84: “the Rule of law at the National and International levels”

New York, 7 October 2022

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

Mr. Chairperson,

At the outset, I would like to align myself with the statements delivered on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement and the Group of Friends on Defense of the Charter of the United Nations, respectively and deliver the following in my national capacity.

My delegation welcomes the call within resolution A/76/117 that invites Member States to focus their comments on the subtopic “the impacts of the global coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on the rule of law at the national and international levels” during the current Sixth Committee debate.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has altered many aspects of life both nationally and internationally; dramatically and, in some ways, permanently. Once it had reached all corners of the world, every single human being was forced to face a common enemy as this pandemic was, without a doubt, the greatest public health emergency of our time. As a result, there was a sudden raised optimism in the international community as it could come together for a united response within a spirit of cooperation.

Despite taking place at a time when multilateralism was under attack, it also provided a unique opportunity for multilateralism to succeed and be strengthened during this period of global crisis and uncertainty. As the Secretary-General stated, I quote: “More than ever before, we need solidarity, hope and the political will to see this crisis through together”.

Unfortunately, in reality, this was not the case. The Unilateral Coercive Measures (UCMs), as the main obstacle in fighting this hidden enemy, remained and were even enforced by those opportunistic countries that seized this pandemic as a chance to accomplish their inhumane political aspirations. These countries rejected the calls of many dignitaries all around the world, including the Secretary-General, for lifting or easing the UCMs at least during the pandemic. 

Within a joint letter (A/74/768-S/2020/238) to both the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council, the Islamic Republic of Iran, along with a number of states, urged to request the complete and immediate lifting of such illegal, coercive and arbitrary measures of economic pressure - in line with the long-standing and principled position of the United Nations to reject unilateral coercive measures - in order to ensure the full, effective and efficient response of all members of the international community to the coronavirus and also to reject the politicization of such a pandemic. Unfortunately, all efforts failed.

The efforts of the international community to pass a consensual omnibus resolution within the General Assembly, namely the “Comprehensive and Coordinated Response to the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic” (A/RES/74/306), also failed due to the objection of those countries that opposed mentioning the agreed language of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development on lifting UCMs within that resolution by using the unaccepted logic that “economic sanctions are a legitimate means of achieving foreign policy, security and other international objectives”. You could take a look at document A/74/PV.64 for more information.

At the same time and amid the spread of pandemic, the WHO, a pioneer organization on the forefront of combatting the pandemic, was regrettably sacrificed by a specific Country by withdrawing from the Organization and refraining from contributing to its budgetary system due to some narrow political agendas.

Mr. Chairperson,

During the apex of the pandemic, my Country was among one of the worst to have been impacted with almost 400 deaths per day at a number of points in time. Our request to the IMF for a loan solely to combat the coronavirus and provide lifesaving services for those affected persons (Iranians and millions of Afghan refugees in Iran) was rejected due to unconstructive interference by the United States.

In addition to the sanctions amid the COVID-19 pandemic which heavily eroded our ability to effectively contain its spread, one of our prominent scientists who was the Head of a national project to produce COVID-19 vaccines in Iran, namely martyr Dr. Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, was assassinated by Israeli agents near Tehran.

It would be remiss of me if I did not give credit to our scientists and healthcare providers who helped those afflicted to overcome this global phenomenon through their sheer will, strength and determination despite all of these efforts to sabotage as well as continue and reinforce the inhumane unilateral sanctions against my Country. We invented our own vaccines including BARAKAT and Pasteurcovac (The Soberana-2) coproduced with Cuba which we are exporting to a number of countries now. I would like to proudly express that currently the death toll from coronavirus in Iran is less than 10 persons in most days.

Mr. Chairperson,

In my final remarks, let me reaffirm my delegation’s commitment to the rule of law at the national and international levels. We acknowledge the United Nations central role for upholding as well as strengthening the rule of law at the international level. However, with regards to paragraph 64 of the Secretary General report contained in document A/77/213, we reiterate our position that the diversity of legal, social, economic and cultural conditions throughout the world should be taken into consideration and that not all the rules are suitable for all societies or at all times.

We emphasize the equal footing and participation of all States in the UN’s norm setting processes and activities which should take place in a tranquil and peaceful environment that must be provided by the Host Country of the UN Headquarters. 

We believe each nation has a sovereign right to establish its own model of the rule of law and develop a legal system based on its own cultural, historical and legal traditions. While appreciating the efforts of different UN entities in assisting Member States in the implementation of rule of law at the national level, it must be reiterated as well that these efforts should be in line with the principle of national ownership, taking into account the socio-cultural circumstances of each relevant country.

I thank you.