Statement by

H. E. Dr. Javad Zarif

Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran

before the Security Council

New York, 26 March 2003

…………………………………

In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

Mr. President,

I wish to thank you, first, for convening this timely open debate on the crisis in Iraq.

My Government deplores that diplomatic efforts aimed at implementing Security Council resolutions on the disarmament of Iraq were prematurely and arbitrarily aborted and a sovereign member of this Organization has become subject to an outright invasion. We believe that there was no justification for departing from the diplomatic path. Neither is there anything that could possibly justify the invasion of Iraq.

The unilateral war against Iraq does not meet any standards of international legitimacy. It is not waged in self-defense against any armed attack. Nor even by any stretch of imagination could Iraq, after 12 years of comprehensive sanction, be considered an imminent threat against the national security of the belligerent powers.

It is also evident that the war was in no way authorized by the Security Council. Quite to the contrary, the latest round of diplomacy in this Council clearly demonstrated that the clear majority of the members, including the majority of the P5, were either steadfastly against or clearly unwilling to support the draft resolution that would have authorized war.

By the same token, implementation of Security Council resolutions cannot be advanced as a justification for resort to war. It is true that 12 years have elapsed since the Security Council set out the obligations of the Iraqi Government with respect to disarmament. And it is equally true that the Iraqi officials were yet to clarify a number of relevant outstanding issues. But it was for the Council to make that determination and decide on the proper course of action. In fact, the Council and the international community on whose behalf it operates, implicitly or explicitly objected to mandating any power to selectively enforce Security Council resolutions.

Nor can it be argued that the United States and its allies drew legitimacy from the fact that they were the victims of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. If any thing, the US was a major culprit in Iraq’s acquisition and unhindered use of these weapons in the 1980s.

That is why this war has received almost universal condemnation.

Moreover, the stated goal of regime change in Iraq runs flagrantly counter to the norms and principles of international law, and so does the concept of arbitrary preemptive strike, which openly negates the provisions of the UN Charter. Democracy is not something that could be taken to societies by tanks and helicopter gun ships. The Iraqi people may resent their government, but as they have shown in the past several days, they do not accept their liberation through foreign occupation. The world, the people in the region and the Iraqis have not forgotten that those who now want to impose democracy on Iraq at gunpoint, have had a well-known record of supporting and sustaining dictatorship there and elsewhere.

The blind support provided to Israel, which has not only flouted the decisions of the Security Council and the General Assembly for decades, but in fact has a record of repression and murder that is second to none, is yet another instructive case of seriousness of claims for enforcement of Council resolutions or liberation and democracy.

Mr. President,

The grave consequences of this war for regional and global stability has already been underlined by various speakers. In addition, my country, which shares long borders with Iraq and is dangerously close to the theatre of hostilities have not only received refugees but in fact rockets and missiles from both sides of the hostilities, some of which have landed in population centers. I have to register my Government’s strongest protests and underline the imperative of taking remedial and preventive measures by the belligerents.

Mr. President,

UN member states have frequently warned that the undermining of international law will sooner or later come back to haunt the very authors of such practices. The parading of POWs before television cameras is in contravention of the relevant Geneva Convention. Iraq and the United States have both violated the Convention, and should stop their violation. This instance clearly shows that all countries, be they big or small, benefit from the principles of international law. Undoubtedly, the provisions of international law should be promoted and enforced in their entirety. Selectivity is not only unacceptable, but in fact dangerously impractical.

Mr. President,

My Government is concerned over the extensive aerial bombardment and artillery shelling, resulting in the death and suffering of Iraqi civilians and the deteriorating situation in Iraqi population centers. All indications suggest that a humanitarian crisis looms ahead. The humanitarian situation in Basra, which is indicative of what may soon happen throughout Iraq, is especially a grave cause for concern. My Government has made preparation to assist Iraqi civilians in cooperation with multilateral institutions. However, under the fourth Geneva Convention, it is clear that the countries who have resorted to war have to shoulder the full burden of meeting the humanitarian and protection requirements of Iraqi civilians and must be accountable for the welfare and the safety of the people.

At the same time, it is imperative that the future well-being and the immediate humanitarian requirements of the Iraqi people cannot be decided unilaterally outside the United Nations. We concur with the Secretary-General that the guiding principles in the work of the Council and the Organization on this issue should be respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, national unity and political independence of Iraq as well as the inalienable right of the Iraqi people to self-determination and to sovereignty over their natural resources.

Mr. President,

While we need to tackle the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Iraq, it is not acceptable that the Security Council, which has the primary responsibility for maintenance of international peace and security, fails to consider the conflict itself, which is the cause of the humanitarian as well as political catastrophe that is unfolding in our neighborhood. Thus, the Council has an obligation to address forthwith the breach of peace that is unfolding in Iraq. The international community expects that this Council live up to its obligations and call for immediate cease fire and withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq.

Thank you Mr. President.