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Iran
Mr. President,
The Secretary General,
Distinguished Delegates,
I would first like to congratulate the you, President of the 53rd General assembly, on your election to your illustrious position. If your performance up to this point is any indicator, I feel that you were chosen wisely, and I'm sure you'll be able to lead us through this year in an effective manner.
As you all know, the Islamic Republic of Iran recently went through
a change in leadership, switching to a more moderate government. Our president,
Mohammed Khatami, was elected by over 70% of Iran, in an election that
over 90% of our citizens participated in. As a result, many of our policies
have changed, and I would like to take this time to explain them to you.
Nuclear and Chemical Weapons
Mr. President,
As we approach the millennium, we as a global community are enjoying an explosion of new technology that has improved our lives in many ways, however with the many advances time has brought us, come many new dangers. The century that brought us the cure to many diseases has also brought the technology for man to create a plague far more deadly than any that we have ever known. In recent years, the United Nations has become more and more active in the world community, however the problems which confront it now are more serious than we ever could have imagined 100 years ago.
The plague that I refer to is actually two different, but equally destructive technologies: chemical/biological weapons and nuclear weapons. In recent years, we have seen both of these technologies fall into the hands of nations who we all know aren't capable of handling them in a responsible manner. The increase in the number of these weapons can only be seen as a threat to international security, as ordinary border conflicts now have the potential of escalating to nuclear war.
The recent nuclear tests by India and Pakistan disturbed the Islamic Republic of Iran. We feel that these tests are a serious threat to regional security, however we do not place the blame for these tests solely on India and Pakistan. We believe that more than anything else, this unfortunate situation was caused by the weakness of the five declared nuclear powers, and their unwillingness to respect the request of the international community for denuclearization. The IRI emphatically calls on the nuclear powers to realize that the NPT isn't enough to prevent the spread of nuclear arms, and denuclearize before it's too late. (5).
The Islamic Republic of Iran would also like to see the international
community, especially the United States, remove it's double standard in
the Middle East, and look at the Zionist regime with the same scrutiny
with which it is currently looking at Iraq. The Islamic Republic of Iran
does not condone the actions of Iraq, and urges them to comply with the
United Nations, however it sees the Zionists chemical and nuclear arsenals
as the greatest threat to the Middle East. It is common knowledge that
the Zionists have both chemical and nuclear weapons, and recent reports
of this are, in the IRI's opinion, more than sufficient to warrant an international
investigation. (6, 10, ProJo, 10-2-98).
Security Council Reform
Mr. President,
The face of the world today has changed greatly since the founding of the United Nations after World War II. Many nations have since established themselves as world powers, while some nations who were powerful in the 1940's have seen their power slowly diminish. However, for the 53 years this great organization has existed, the Security Council has remained unchanged. The Islamic Republic of Iran feels that it is time to reform the security council to better represent all nations of the globe.
First of all, as a member of the Organization of Islamic Conference, the IRI would like to reiterate the organization's stance that a permanent seat on the Security Council, with the same rights as the other permanent members, should be given to the OIC The IRI feels that Islamic nations are poorly represented on the Security Council, and that giving a permanent seat to a coalition of Muslim nations would be the best way to represent all of them. (7).
Secondly, as a member of the Non-Aligned Movement, an organization of
developing nations, the IRI feels that an additional 11 seats on the security
council should go to members of the NAM This would allow the developing
world greater input in the security council, without compromising the power
of the current permanent members. The IRI would also like to emphasize
that the new members would rotate, to allow all the nations of the world
equal representation. However, since proposals involving this haven't been
sufficiently discussed, the IRI would like to see more attention given
to these proposals so a consensus may be reached. (7).
The Iran-Afghanistan Conflict
Mr. President, Distinguished Delegates,
As representative of our various countries, we are all guaranteed protection,
even when in hostile territory. This concept has allowed negotiations to
continue in times of hostility throughout much of recorded history. Because
of this, many wars have been averted, and many lives have been saved. With
this in mind, I must say that I am mortified by the recent developments
in Afghanistan. This brutal and indiscriminate murder of 9 Iranian diplomats
is a violation of diplomatic and humanitarian international law, and we
as an international body should do something about it. The Islamic Republic
of Iran demands that the Taliban militia return the remaining Iranian citizens,
who were providing humanitarian aid to the war torn people of Afghanistan,
back to Iran immediately. Furthermore, Iran demands that the Taliban identify
and punish those individuals responsible for this criminal act of war.
If the Taliban fails to do this, Iran urges you, the delegates of the United
Nation, to take appropriate measures against such gross violations of diplomatic
and humanitarian international law. Iran would like to see a peaceful end
to this conflict, however we will not let this action go unpunished. (13,
15).
Kosovo
Mr. President,
The Islamic Republic of Iran would also like to express its concern
over the recent rise in the tensions between the ethnic Albanians of Kosovo
and the government of Yugoslavia. Iran feels that the people of Kosovo
have a legitimate right to autonomy, and that the government of Yugoslavia
should recognize that right. Iran hopes that this situation will be able
to be resolved peacefully, however we feel that if Yugoslavia doesn't comply,
that force should be used to end this problem once and for all. (12).
The Zionist Regime
Mr. President,
This great organization has been dealing with the problems in Palestine
for many years, however without much success. However the Islamic Republic
of Iran still feels that compromise with the Zionists will only prolong
this stand-off, and bring humiliation to the Palestinians. Iran feels that
great mono-theistic religions can live together in Palestine, however the
Israeli government has made that impossible. Israel continues it's aggressive
expansion tactics, while it buys time with small inadequate concessions
to the Palestinians. I would like to reiterate what our President Mohammed
Khatami said in his address to the 53 session of the General Assembly,
"Palestine is the home of all Palestinians - Muslims, Christians and Jews
- and not the laboratory for the violent whims of Zionists." Iran urges
the members of the Security Council to take action against the Zionists,
and urges the United States to allow them to do so. (1, 11, 12).
Human Rights
Mr. President,
Human rights are something that are very important to the Islamic Republic
of Iran, and it hopes to change the way that human rights are dealt with
so that they may be promoted more successfully in more countries. The IRI
feels that improving human rights should be done on a national level, as
opposed to having an international monitoring organization. Human rights
improvement using the national approach has many advantages over an international
one. This approach allows for the different values and characteristics
to be incorporated, and is more acceptable to the people of a nation as
it is not seen as foreign intervention. Consistent with it's policy of
improving human rights on a national level, the new government of Iran
is working to improve human rights in Iran, while keeping the moral values
of Islam intact. Iran feels that the UN should work to strengthen human
rights organizations within countries, such as the Islamic Human Rights
Committee, to name one. (9).
Iran - United States
Since the Islamic revolution, relations between the United States and
the Islamic Republic of Iran have basically non-existent. Both nations
thought of the other as a force of evil, threatening their perfect society,
and both nations were for the most part, wrong. Since the election of Mohammed
Khatami, Iran has been striving to improve relations with the rest of the
world. Recently, President Khatami went to the United States, to help relations
between the United States and Iran. While reactions in the United States
were not as positive as Iran would have liked, Iran sees a thaw in the
U.S.'s cold stance toward Iran, and hopes that further dialog will allow
relations between these two great countries to flourish. (16).
Salman Rushdie
The Islamic Republic of Iran realizes that to improve it's relationship
with European nations, Iran must distance itself from some of the unfortunate
decisions made under the previous administration. The days of fatwas are
behind Iran, and Iran hopes that the world is ready forgive and forget.
(4).
Land Mines
The Islamic Republic of Iran is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world, with nearly 16 million unexploded mines covering nearly 4 million hectares. Over the past 9 years, at great expense, we have destroyed a significant number of these mines, using manual de-mining methods and without access to any records of where the mines were placed. These mines have rendered a large area of our agricultural land unusable, and more importantly, have occasionally killed or maimed the innocent civilians living in those areas.
Because of this, Iran feels that all states should cease their deployment
of anti-personnel mines, and measures should be taken to find a sensible
alternative to them. We would also like to see safer methods for removal
of land mines, as many brave Iranians have lost their lives during our
de-mining efforts. (18).
Islamic Solidarity
Islamic solidarity is a very important issue to the Islamic Republic
of Iran. The followers of the various branches of Islam should concentrate
on their ideological commonalities, instead of their differences. This
will allow the Islamic community to address its own problems in a more
effective manner, as well as allowing it to present a better image to the
rest of the global community. (14, 2).
Status of Women in Iran
Islam has often been criticized for the way it treats women, however
women's rights have grown dramatically in the past few years. The Iranian
government done the following to improve women's rights: "providing the
grounds for extended cultural activities at the level of the national media
and public opinion; strengthening the center for women's contribution,
by elevating its level and providing for the participation of its chairman
in the cabinet; increasing the share of women in the government's annual
budget, especially by allocating special sums for programs meant to alleviate
poverty from deprived rural women; formation of a parliamentary commission
for the affairs of the family, women and youth; extending and consolidating
commissions for women's affairs throughout the country; increasing the
number of women's cultural and social centers; increasing the number of
night schools, especially for girls, in rural and deprived regions; extending
and strengthening professional and technical centers for girls; establishment
of a women's data bank, specialized library and encyclopedia; holding special
training courses for women directors, and providing the suitable grounds
for strengthening the gathering of statistics and information on education
and training of women." (8).
Terrorism
The Islamic Republic of Iran condemns terrorism in all it's forms, and
as a frequent victim of terrorism, Iran feels that terrorism must be stopped.
"The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran does not allow or tolerate
that its territory be used by terrorists for the purpose of instigating,
planning, financing or supporting terrorist activities in other countries.
The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran is committed to further
its efforts on its own, and in cooperation with other states and within
the United Nations in order to ensure that the response to terrorism as
a global problem is effective and internationally coordinated." (3).
Drugs
The Islamic Republic of Iran has always had a zero-tolerance policy towards drugs, and prides itself on it's excellent anti-drug program. Pino Arlacchi, the head of the U.N. office for drug control said about the Iranian anti-drug program, "Iran ranks first among the world countries in the campaign against drug trafficking." Iran is proud of this achievement, and is glad that all those who died for this cause did not die in vain. (17).
Works Cited
1. "Compromise with the Zionists Only Brings About Humiliation for the Palestinians." Iran Review. Press and Information Department of the Foreign Ministry of Islamic Republic of Iran. May 1998.
2. "Devotees of Various Branches of the Islamic Faith Should Attach Importance to Their Ideological Commonalities." Iran Review. Press and Information Department of the Foreign Ministry of Islamic Republic of Iran. February 1998.
3. "Iran condemns terrorism and rejects the allegation of "working agreement" with Bin Laden." http://www.undp.org/missions/iran/press/161.html. September 29, 1998.
4. "Iran's conservatives say Rushdie still marked for death for blasphemy." Providence Journal September 29, 1998, sec. A8.
5. "The Necessity to Launch Joint Efforts to Stop the Production of Weapons of Mass Destruction." Iran Review. Press and Information Department of the Foreign Ministry of Islamic Republic of Iran. May 1998.
6. "The Necessity of Making the Middle East Free from Weapons of Mass Destruction" Iran Review. Press and Information Department of the Foreign Ministry of Islamic Republic of Iran. March 1998.
7. "The Need to Restructure the U.N. Security Council" Iran Review. Press and Information Department of the Foreign Ministry of Islamic Republic of Iran. May 1998.
8. "Present Status of Women in Iran." Iran Review. Press and Information Department of the Foreign Ministry of Islamic Republic of Iran. March 1998.
9. "Respecting National Mechanisms a Best way in Treating the Issue of Human Rights." Iran Review. Press and Information Department of the Foreign Ministry of Islamic Republic of Iran. May 1998.
10. Sciolino, Elaine. "Iran Glad to Be Above the Fray Between Its 2 Enemies." New York Times February 12, 1998.
11. "Statement by H.E. Dr. Kamal Kharrazi, Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran before the 52nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly." http://www.undp.org/missions/iran/statements/ga/ga52001.html. September 22, 1997.
12. "Statement by H.E. Mohammad Khatami President of the Islamic Republic of Iran before the 53rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly." http://www.undp.org/missions/iran/statements/ga/ga53001.html. September 21, 1998.
13. "Statement by H.E. Mr. Hadi Nejad-Hosseinian Ambassador & Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations before The Security Council on The Situation in Afghanistan." http://www.undp.org/missions/iran/statements/sc/sc023.html. August 22, 1998.
14. "Statement by H.E. Dr. Kamal Kharrazi, Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran at OIC Coordination Meeting of the Foreign Ministers" http://www.undp.org/missions/iran/statements/ic/ic011.html. October 1, 1998.
15. "Tragic Killing of the Iranian Diplomats in Afghanistan by Taliban Militia." http://www.undp.org/missions/iran/press/160.html. September 11, 1998.
16. "Transcript of CNN's interview with President Khatami" http://persia.org/khatami/khatami06.html. January 7, 1998.
17. "U.N. Under Secretary General's Viewpoints on Iran's Campaign against Drug Trafficking." Iran Review. Press and Information Department of the Foreign Ministry of Islamic Republic of Iran. April 1998.
18. "Assistance in Mine Clearance." http://www.un.int/iran/statements/ga/ga52010.html. December 17, 1997