COVID- 19 epidemiological updates Session Geneva, 16 July 2021

بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم

Statement

 By

Mr. Sadatinejad  

Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations Office in Geneva

Before

COVID- 19 epidemiological updates Session

Geneva, 16 July 2021

Madam. Chairman,

No responsible member state can afford to be indifferent vis-a-vis such critical issue as the origin tracing of corona virus is. At the same time no responsible actor should let this process deviate from purely scientific based track. Politicization of this process will be an unforgivable injustice to science and to the humanity. We support a continuing transparent investigation on the origin of the virus on the basis of the findings of the Joint Report under WHO leadership without outside political pressures or manipulation. 

That said, dear colleagues, we should not let the whole tracing procedure distract us from the immediate urgent situation we are facing right now. The fact that the highly contagious and possibly more deadly Delta variant is prevailing while the overwhelming majority of people in developing countries remain unvaccinated must serve as an extremely dangerous alarm. 

The ever exacerbating inequity in access to vaccines and the expanding level of vaccine hoarding in the global North should not be normalized. This is a moral scandal for humanity. 

Dear colleagues,

While tens of millions of doses of unused excess vaccines continue to be expired in some developed countries, thousands of people in developing and least developed nations are losing their lives simply because there is no way they can have access to effective vaccine. 

The COVAX facility has failed to fulfill its promises, evidently because of lack of cooperation on the part of producers and their respective States. Vaccine nationalism and vaccine hoarding is causing catastrophic and gross violations of fundamental right to life across the globe. 

While we continue our common quest for finding the origin of corona virus, we need to be seriously mindful of the tragic situation right now. The ongoing discriminatory and unfair policies and actions regarding the distribution of covid-19 vaccine must be addressed immediately and the COVAX mechanism and other initiative should be provided with necessary resources and facilities to honor their pledges toward their constituencies.

I thank you