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Iran’s General Statement - ECOSOC Humanitarian Affairs Segment – Geneva – 21 June 2023

Statement

 By

Ambassador Ali Bahreini

Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations Office

 and Other International Organizations in Geneva

Before

ECOSOC Humanitarian Affairs Segment

General Statement

Geneva – 21 June 2023

بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم

Thank you vice president.

My delegation wishes to align itself with the statement delivered by Venezuela on behalf of the Group of Friends in defense of the Charter of the United Nations.

In his report, the Secretary-General has properly elaborated on key challenges in the humanitarian response. Looking at these challenges in depth, we will find a complicated nexus between them. The lack of multilateralism and applying unilateralism is a key element to be considered in all the aforementioned challenges.

For example, Iran, due to the political turmoil in Afghanistan following the prolonged occupation and thoughtless withdrawal from the country, has dealt with a large number of Afghan displaced persons irregularly seeking refuge in Iran. This situation has made Iran the second-largest host country in the world, hosting 3.4 million registered foreign nationals. Informal statistics demonstrate the same volume of illegal immigrants in Iran.

Literally, the burden of hosting should have been shared fairly and equitably. However, Iranians, as the second biggest host community, are being penalized by unilateral sanctions imposed by the same entity that brought Afghanistan and its neighbors into this disorder.

Respecting the protection, unilateral sanctions not only undermine the hosting capacity of my country, but also coerce other stakeholders, including states, private sectors, and humanitarian NGOs, into reluctance or refusal to contribute to the protection of humanitarian needs in Iran, thereby narrowing the humanitarian space.

In terms of humanitarian access, the implementation of restrictive measures has also had repercussions on the acceptance of humanitarian organizations and their ability to access targeted host countries, international resources, and means of assistance, including international funds and cash assistance.

Food insecurity and famine are also other testaments to this situation. Unilateral sanctions further worsen the food crisis across the globe, especially in the South, by tampering with the normal distribution chain, preventing transfer of technology for industrialization of agriculture as well as access to the livestock inputs. In the same vein, realization of the fundamental rights of every individual to be free of hunger and to have access to adequate food, as included in the general assembly’s resolution on the Right to Food, has fallen victim to unilateralism.

Moreover, the improvement of infrastructures to cope with the plights of people in humanitarian need, such as refugees, host communities, and people affected by or prone to disasters and climate crisis alike, needs further investment and availability of financial resources, which are banned by unilateral sanctions. It is a prerequisite for transition from relief to development as an effective action to promote resilience, sustainable solutions and recovery in the humanitarian contexts.

In this context, to strengthen humanitarian assistance at a time of unprecedented global humanitarian needs, we have no choice but to promote genuine and collective multilateralism and to scale up our humanitarian diplomacy.

Vice president

 I would like to seize this opportunity and make the following recommendations:

• Call upon the Secretary-General to address the humanitarian ramifications of Unilateral Coercive Measures, particularly in the protection regime for displaced persons, as well as the UN's humanitarian preparedness, coordination, and response, in his annual report on “Strengthening the coordination of emergency humanitarian assistance of the United Nations.
• Call on the member states to come with a mechanism to address the humanitarian implications of unilateral sanctions, through the General Assembly or ECOSOC in line with improvement of the mandate of Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of the unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights,
• Call upon all States, international humanitarian organizations, and their partners to ensure effective access to humanitarian resources and assistance for countries dealing with humanitarian situations.

Thank you.