UNCTAD IX Ministerial Meeting 7 October 2021

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بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم  

Statement

By

Ambassador Esmaeil B. Hamaneh

Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the UN Office 

And other international organizations in Geneva

Before

UNCTAD IX Ministerial Meeting

(Explanation of position after the adoption of Bridgetown Covenant)

7 October 2021

 

 

Madam President,

Excellency Honorable Prime Minister of Barbados,

Distinguished delegates,

 

The delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran would like to congratulate Barbados for successful hosting of UNCTAD IV. We thank the UNCTAD IV’s bureau and indeed all who contributed to this important outcome.

Madam President,

            I would like to put on record the following observation in connection with paragraphs 99 and127(g) that relate to the need for the UNCTAD to better address the consequences of unilateral coercive measures on development and on the well-being of the targeted countries.

The growing scope, frequency, type and target and scope of unilateral coercive measure requires the international community to be seriously alarmed over the illegality of such measures under international law as well as the disastrous economic and social consequences of these measures on the affected populations. 

 

Madam President,

UNCTAD was established to accord developing nations a louder voice in matters of international economic governance in support of their people’s right to self-determination.

The UNCTAD's chief assignment is to ensure that development remains a top priority and that trade benefits all. The mutually reinforcing nexus between trade and development is key to promoting prosperity for all, reducing inequality within and among countries, and lessening vulnerability across the globe.

The international community cannot afford to remain unfazed at the challenges that are undermining lawful trade relations and thus compromising development. The right to development is at risk of unprecedented threats and distresses, principally coming from unilateral economic, trade and financial measures disguised under different pseudo-legal excuses.  

Madam President,

Development needs to be sustained by an enabling environment where the rule of law prevails and where fair, inclusive and non-discriminatory trade relations that provide for access to technology, finance and capacity-building could thrive. 

The frequent and widespread resort to unilateral coercive measures has severely affected both trade and development. The weaponization of currency and instrumentalizstion of economic power to affect desired political change in the targeted developing States have contaminated international trade and repressed development. Unilateral economic and financial sanctions, as inhuman and unjust as they are, are not only endangering the fundamental principles of free and fair trade but also undermining the basic tenets of international law by normalizing the extraterritorial application of domestic law at the cost of lawful sovereign rights and privileges of other States.

Unilateral coercive measures also infringe on the sovereign right of affected countries to access their foreign assets needed to purchase food, medicines, and other essential commodities. This is all the more consequential during the Covid-19 crisis when targeted are obstructed from accessing adequate supplies of Covid-19 treatments, vaccines, and medical equipment, leading to excess human loss. Unilateral coercive measures have adversely affected the capacity of major refugee host countries to protect these vulnerable people on the move. Too, and undermined humanitarian action as well.

It is very telling that the overwhelming majority of unilateral coercive measures that target entire populations affect developing countries and economies in transition. Its voice in addressing the rapidly expanding use of unilateral coercive trade and financial measures against developing countries, primarily to affect desired political change, and on the economic, social and human suffering caused by this to developmental goals, including the 2030 Agenda, must be heard, and urgently so. 

Madam President,

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is expected to utilize its three pillars of research and analysis, intergovernmental consensus-building and technical cooperation to address the negative implications of financial and trade unilateral coercive measures on development and on basic economic, social and other human rights of the targeted populations. 

I thank you.