Statement by

Ms. Nooshin Teymourpour

Second Secretary

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

At the second Committee

Under Agenda Item 23: Operational activities for development and its sub-items

New York, 14 October 2022

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

Madam Chair,

First and foremost, I would like to convey that the I.R. of Iran aligns itself with the statement delivered by distinguished representative of Pakistan on behalf of the G77 and China.

Madam Chair,

My delegation notes the Secretary-General's report in which he highlights that the repositioned UNDS provides more integrated support to the country's needs and priorities on sustainable development. At the same time, the report reiterates that its progress remains modest, including on funding compact commitments. Based on this information, we believe that the system must accelerate efforts to implement the unfulfilled promises to incentivize the funding shift essential for the implementation of relevant reforms in the system.

Madam Chair,

Iran stands for a transparent and effective UN Development System because we believe it has a crucial role in supporting countries towards achieving sustainable development and overcoming their development challenges. However, in order to respond effectively to the multiple and interlinked crises facing developing countries, the following considerations should be given due attention:

First: We insist that the eradication of poverty must remain the overarching focus of the UN Development System.

Second: there is a dire need for the UNDS to have access to predictable, adequate and sustainable financial resources and, simultaneously, ensure that such relevant resources and financial aid will be allocated to developing countries free of discrimination and without taking into account political considerations.

Third: The UNDS should provide coherent and integrated support tailored to the changing needs and priorities of developing countries. Basic principles, such as national ownership and leadership, are of critical importance for the delivery of effective results. This includes timely reporting from the RC and UN Country Teams to host countries. Therefore, the new UNSDCF must be developed in full consultation with host Governments and reflect the country's needs and priorities.

Fourth: My delegation is concerned about the significant cuts in core allocation for development and the state of the funding of the RC system. We believe that adequate, predictable and sustainable funding in this regard should be ensured, especially at a time when pervasive imbalance between core and non-core resources threaten the UNDS. 

Fifth: We believe that there should not and cannot be a one-size-fits-all approach and that each country's program must reflect the realities as well as needs of the program country. Moreover, the quality of program implementation at the country-level should take precedence over any administrative considerations. At the same time, given the significant challenges that many developing countries face in achieving sustainable development, reductions in program activities would impair the performance of development projects and related joint activities in the field.

Sixth: South-South cooperation is a complement to, not a substitute for, North-South Cooperation and must be integrated into the operational activities of the United Nations development system. UN entities need to strengthen their institutional capacities further and allocate adequate resources to support South-South cooperation. 

Dear Colleagues,

For the time being, the main priority for my Country in the field of development is to address the adverse impacts of unlawful unilateral coercive measures, including illegal unilateral sanctions, which have amounted to economic terrorism against our innocent peoples. The extreme economic pressure exerted against Iranians has seriously endangered the life of ordinary people while sabotaging years of achievements in Iran’s sustainable development efforts. We expect that the UNDS take concrete measures to address those challenges in an effort to alleviate the Iranian people’s suffering from these unlawful sanctions.