Text of the Statement by
H.E. Dr. M. Javad Zarif
Deputy Foreign Minister of
The Islamic
Before the General Assembly:
Measures to Eliminate
International Terrorism
In the name of God, the
Compassionate, the Merciful
Mr.
President,
Terrorism is a global menace. The tragic events of September 11th
have indeed shocked and outraged the international community. They illustrated the scope and magnitude of
our common vulnerability; the vulnerability of each and every one of us to the
barbarism and inhumanity of a perverted response to injustice and
exclusion. Allow me at the outset, to
use the words of condemnation and sympathy of President Khatami, in his message
of 11 September:
On behalf of the Iranian government and nation, I
condemn the hijacking and terrorist attacks on public centers in American
cities, which have killed a large number of innocent human beings. My deep
sympathy goes out to the American nation, particularly those who have suffered
from the attacks and also to the families of the victims. Terrorism is doomed
and the international community should take effective measures in a bid to
eradicate it.
Under these tragic circumstances,
empathy is the only human response. We cannot, but share the pain and anguish
of not only thousands of families who lost their loved ones but an entire
nation that has been traumatized by the horror of this crime. Emotions and anger are only human, but we
need a great deal of collective reflection and wisdom for a rational and
far-sighted response. A response that should focus not only on this horrific
crime, but on terrorism in general, wherever and whenever it occurs, and more
importantly, on the root causes of injustice and exclusion that can be
exploited by demagogues to inflict so much harm on innocent human beings.
This requires vision, serious
political will and active participation and cooperation of all. As a global menace, terrorism needs a global
response, founded on inclusion, fairness and international legitimacy. As a tragedy caused by blind hatred, the
response cannot be indiscriminate retribution, putting many innocent civilian
lives at risk. Terrorists should not be allowed to set the agenda, or dictate the
response.
Terrorism is a heinous product of
the outdated paradigm of international relations. That paradigm was founded on the "will
to power" and the arrogance that was associated with it: that "might
makes right". As "might"
ruled, injustice prevailed and hatred flourished, some who were dispossessed
were inclined to resort to terror and violence.
We must eradicate terrorism by changing the prevalent mentality that
provided a fertile ground for the growth of this menace. Every one who is serious about fighting
terrorism, especially those in a position of global power, would be well
advised not to resort to statements and policies emanating from emotions
intertwined with the arrogance of power that could only further entrench the
mentality that produced terrorism.
The international community has been
moving away from that paradigm to a new paradigm founded on equal footing,
stakeholding and dispersion of power.
The purposes and principles of the United Nations and the decision of
this august body to designate this year as the United Nations Year of Dialogue
among Civilizations reflect the will of the international community to move
forward to this new paradigm. Allow me
to quote from the final draft of a forthcoming book that has been prepared by a
group of eminent persons, selected by the Secretary-General to define the
parameters of a new paradigm of Dialogue among Civilizations:
The existence of common dangers -- indeed, terrorism
-- has created this equality in vulnerability that seems to beg as an answer a
stronger adherence to common norms, common behavior and common values, for the
dangers we are talking about….can only be minimized by a universal alliance of
rules of behavior and values.
Dialogue brings with it equal footing….as it is a process by which we accept, as much as we want to be accepted. We include, as much as we want to be included. We listen, as much as we want to be listened to.
In these terms, dialogue can perhaps eventually usher
in a new paradigm of global relations because it challenges the old paradigm of
hegemonism, the politics of power, in other words, of “might makes
right”…dialogue can be a framework where the weakest is accorded the privilege
to be listened to, and where the strongest finds it necessary to explain its
case to others.
Mr.
President,
This organization and this august body provide a
unique mechanism to mobilize the international community to address terrorism
at its roots. My delegation fully
concurs with the Secretary-General in his thoughtful editorial in New York
Times that "the United Nations provides the forum necessary for building a
universal coalition and can ensure global legitimacy for the long-term response
to terrorism." It is indeed an
effective mechanism that can draw upon the resources and capabilities of each
and every member-state within a rule-based and non-discriminatory framework,
thus forging an international consensus in the fight against terrorism.
The Islamic Republic of Iran is fully prepared to
contribute actively to a UN-led global campaign against terrorism. President
Khatami in his letter of 16 September to the Secretary-General proposed that
"comprehensive and inclusive negotiations should commence to articulate
practical and serious global policies and strategies to eradicate the menace of
terrorism." He called for the convening of a “Global Summit, at earliest
possible date, to register and demonstrate the highest international political
will to uproot terrorism.”
In our view, the General Assembly should consider a
multi-faceted approach to terrorism, which should include, as one of its major
components, a comprehensive legal framework.
In this context, we need to articulate objective criteria, which would
enable the international community, to identify and combat terrorism regardless
of its victims or culprits. Legitimacy
as well as sustainability of the global struggle against terrorism rests on
applying a single set of standards to all.
It is not acceptable that patterns of alliance rather than actual
engagement in terrorist activities would become the determining factor. Thus, the credibility of the campaign against
terrorism is seriously undermined when policies and practices designed to
instill terror and fear among the entire Palestinian people receive acquiescing
silence, while resistance to foreign occupation and state terrorism is
conveniently demonized.
A comprehensive legal framework should also include
appropriate guidelines for a rational and rule-based approach across the board,
so that no terrorist, no matter where they commit their terror, can find refuge
or source of support, financing and recruitment in any member of the
international community.
We believe that the Ad Hoc Committee established by
the General Assembly and the Working Group of the 6th Committee
should speed up their efforts and prepare the necessary legal documents for
adoption by the proposed Global Summit. The draft comprehensive convention on
combating international terrorism is certainly one of the appropriate documents
that could be considered by the Ad Hoc Committee. We should endeavor to arrive
at consensus on the key issues of the proposed convention and pave the way for
its adoption.
But the work of the General Assembly on legal
frameworks should not lead us to lose sight of fundamental issues of conflict prevention
and appropriate political, social and economic strategies to address the
mentality that breads terrorism and the root causes that nurture it.
Mr.
President,
Terrorism has no religion, no nationality or ethnic
background. It is indeed the negation of
everything religions stand for. Attempts
to attribute the recent acts of terror and violence even to a misguided
interpretation of Islam are not only dangerous, but indeed utterly erroneous. Intolerance, extremism and violence have no
place in Islam or among its adherents. We must not purport to accord any
legitimacy to these acts by associating them even with a misguided reading of
Islam, which categorically condemns the killing of a single innocent human
being equating it with genocide against the entire humankind. The Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran,
in his speech of 17 September clearly articulated the Islamic position, when he
said: “killing of innocent people, in any place and with any type of weapon, be
it long range missiles, or nuclear, biological or chemical weapons, carried out
by any organization, country or individual, is categorically rejected and
condemned.” More recently, in his speech
of 26 September, Ayatollah Khamenei articulated that fighting against terrorism
is a religious responsibility of all Muslims, amounting to Jihad, and called on
the Islamic World to take the lead in a serious and comprehensive campaign to
eradicate terrorism. Muslim scholars
from across the Islamic world have taken similar positions.
It is a source of deep concern that the events of
September 11th have given rise to a new wave of Islamophobia and
bigotry against Muslims and Arabs.
Disturbing trends have surfaced to bring about a clash among
civilizations and prevent the realization of dialogue at the national and
international levels. The recent event should not be utilized to further
stimulate chronic cultural and political misconceptions, stereotypes and
prejudices. Furthermore, abuse of this catastrophe, exemplified by portraying
of an artificial clash between Islam and the West and the increasing
suppression of the Palestinian people by
Allow me to conclude, Mr. President,
by quoting again from the draft work of the Group of Eminent Persons on
Dialogue among Civilizations:
…the tragic terrorist attacks of 11 September make the
call for a Dialogue among Civilizations even more compelling…Whether we are moving towards a clash of
civilizations or towards greater human solidarity against those who murder
innocents only because they are different, is really up to each of us. The choice is neither predetermined nor
unavoidable; that is why each of us individually chooses and takes personal
responsibility. We can let the small
minority take over and throw us into continuous conflict at all levels; or we
can enlarge the coalition of those who respect each other’s dignity and common
humanity, who value the life of our family members as well as the life of our
fellow human beings on the other side of the planet.
Thank
you, Mr. President.