Iran

Allow me at the outset to congratulate Mr. Holkeri on his election to the presidency of the General Assembly and to assure him of the full cooperation of the delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the discharge of his important responsibilities. I wish also to register our appreciation for the efforts of his predecessor, Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, the Foreign Minister of Namibia. My thanks and gratitude also go to our Secretary-General for his tireless and constructive endeavours on behalf of the Organization. The world is currently undergoing the most radical changes ever experienced by mankind. In such a rapidly changing environment, the main challenge facing the United Nations is to keep pace with events and try to play a leading role in directing their course in a way more compatible with the interests of the overwhelming majority of the world's population. The recently concluded Millennium Summit provided a unique opportunity for global leaders to draw up a collective agenda for addressing this historic challenge. As the sole universal body, the United Nations is uniquely positioned to be the instrument of democratic global change. It can help to ensure that the process of change and transformation in the global system is participatory and fair. The focus of our attention at the global level over the past 55 years has been on the preservation of international peace, security and stability. Despite the tremendous economic and technological progress that has been achieved, justice 29 and universal participation in decision-making and in the benefits of peace and progress have attracted less global attention and fewer resources. As the Secretary-General points out in his millennium report, the benefits and costs of globalization have not been evenly distributed. While world trade has increased more than ten-fold since 1950, over half of the world population continues to live on less than $2 a day and three quarters of the world population earn less than 20 per cent of total global income. The common destiny of humanity in the age of globalization requires us to reject the illusion of building islands of affluence, prosperity and stability in a turbulent sea of war, poverty, disease, ignorance and insecurity. Globalization is an economic, social and cultural reality. It should not just be allowed to happen — it is a reality that we can and should collectively manage. One key task is to ensure that the benefits of globalization are more evenly distributed. The millennium report of the Secretary-General sets out a number of realistic and quantifiable targets. Necessary resources need to be committed and those who have been mostly on the receiving end of the benefits of globalization have an added responsibility. The United Nations machinery should direct and coordinate bilateral and multilateral efforts in this regard. Globalization has also further complicated the global menaces of terrorism, organized crime and drug trafficking, necessitating the adoption of common and rule-based strategies to fight and eradicate them. Terrorism afflicts the entire international community and must thus be combated in its entirety, regardless of who its victims or perpetrators may be. In a globalized world, nothing can justify harbouring or providing safe haven to terrorists or condoning their activities. No nation can fight terrorism unilaterally. We need universal, non-discriminatory and comprehensive mechanisms to fight terrorism wherever it occurs and to deprive terrorists of their means of recruitment, operation and funding. The role of the United Nations in this regard is indispensable. In this context, particular attention needs to be focused on cooperation in the field of transnational organized crime and drug trafficking, which, in addition to inflicting their own banes on humanity, increasingly provide income to terrorist organizations. We are prepared to participate actively in any endeavour to combat this scourge. The menace of drug abuse and trafficking continues to take a heavy social, economic and political toll. It particularly afflicts young people, who embody the future. Combating drug trafficking is a costly exercise and requires international political will and serious burden-sharing. The provision of meaningful financial resources and modern equipment by target countries can enable transit countries, such as ours, to combat the problem at a fraction of the cost. The Islamic Republic of Iran has done more than its fair share in preventing transit, seizing more than 70 per cent of all narcotics confiscated worldwide. The financial burden and, more importantly, the human sacrifice are unsustainable. More than 2,900 Iranian drug enforcement personnel have been martyred in the fight against drug traffickers. We appreciate the cooperation and support extended to Iran by the United Nations International Drug Control Programme in this regard, although its limited resources cannot cover the programmes it wants and needs to implement. It is important to stress that, in the absence of meaningful bilateral and multilateral assistance, the Islamic Republic of Iran will have to allocate most resources to combating domestic consumption and will not be able to sustain its fight against drug trafficking with the same vigour and energy. As underlined by President Khatami here last week, the emergence of a world culture is another reality. But such a culture should not overlook native local cultures with the aim of imposing itself upon them. National cultures have gradually evolved in a process ensuring coherence in spite of the plurality and diversity that is found in many of them. This process creates a sense of belonging. We need the same harmony and sense of belonging for the emerging world culture. The answer is participation and not assimilation and imposition. Last year, I proposed recognition of the right of nations and peoples to preserve and nourish their culture and cultural identity. The General Assembly adopted resolution 54/160 in this regard. We continue to believe that in the process of globalization, it is essential to recognize and respect cultural rights of individuals and communities. We should transform globalization, particularly in the area of culture, into a democratic, participatory and 30 natural process of globality. The United Nations can facilitate this process by promoting dialogue for the exchange of knowledge, experience and understanding in diverse areas of culture and civilization. The promotion of global participation in the process will prevent a sense of alienation and “cultural homelessness” in major parts of the world. The designation of the year 2001 as the United Nations Year of Dialogue among Civilizations is the first step in this direction. The unprecedented worldwide reception of this proposal indicates first and foremost a general need for dialogue. The round table on dialogue among civilizations, which was held here in New York on the eve of the Millennium Summit with the participation of a significant number of heads of State, Foreign Ministers and prominent scholars and thinkers, underlined that dialogue should become the new paradigm of international relations. This constituted a proper launching of the United Nations Year of Dialogue. It must be augmented by serious programmes and the commitment of all to make this a meaningful reality which should persist in human experience long after the United Nations Year of Dialogue ends. In this context, the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), which is currently chaired by President Khatami, has recently adopted a draft “global agenda on dialogue among civilizations”, to be submitted to the General Assembly at its fifty-sixth session. We hope that in the course of the next several months, consultations between various delegations will lead to further enrichment and the adoption of this draft at the next General Assembly. The United Nations can naturally play a leading role in the democratic global change in the political scene. Crises in disparate parts of the world challenge the relevance of the United Nations, requiring it not to take the back seat. The situation of Palestine represents a vivid illustration of the failure of the international community to provide justice to millions of people deprived of their homeland and the most fundamental human rights through State terrorism, aggression and foreign occupation. Of over 7.5 million Palestinians, 4 million live in diaspora, and many of the rest under foreign domination. This lies at the heart of the Palestinian question. Disregarding the joint processes of expulsion and occupation cannot lead to the restoration of peace and tranquillity in that volatile region. In fact, Israel's persistent disregard for the rights of the Palestinian people, coupled with Zionist policies of aggression, State terrorism and acquisition of weapons of mass destruction, continue to pose the greatest threat to regional peace, security and stability. Palestine belongs to all Palestinians irrespective of their creed. Peace can return to the region only through an end to the occupation of all Arab and Muslim territories, including the Golan Heights, the restoration of the rights of Palestinian people, including their right to return to their homeland, the exercise of their inalienable right to self-determination through democratic means and the establishment of their independent State with Al-Quds al-Sharif as its capital. The persistence of the tragic fratricide in Afghanistan, along with the dire humanitarian situation, violations of human rights, particularly those of women and girls, the production and trafficking of narcotics and the harbouring and training of terrorists have created a human catastrophe. Peace and national reconciliation can be attained only through abandoning the illusion of a military solution and the domination of one ethnic group. The United Nations, through the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and the “six plus two” Group, continues to provide the most suitable mechanism to facilitate intra-Afghan dialogue aimed at a responsible, broad-based, multi- ethnic and fully representative government. The Islamic Republic of Iran has played an active role in this process. Also, in his capacity as Chairman of the OIC, President Khatami has undertaken an initiative to bring the warring factions to negotiations. We are prepared to continue this exercise in close coordination with the United Nations. There are other humanitarian challenges emerging globally, requiring the United Nations to respond. Failure to act may bring about arbitrary and selective — and, naturally, politically motivated — responses from States and non-universal organizations. The articulation of the criteria for rule-based reaction and the allocation of necessary resources and capacity- building in the United Nations for timely response constitute two major tasks ahead. As the Secretary- General has pointed out, prevention through diplomacy and economic development is the most effective and least costly type of global engagement. Good-governance at the international level requires the provision of rational and comprehensive mechanisms to ensure security for all. Nuclear disarmament is the most fundamental priority in this 31 regard. It is imperative to initiate multilateral negotiations for the elimination of all nuclear weapons, within a time-bound framework and through a comprehensive and universal convention. The proposal of the Secretary-General to convene an international conference on nuclear weapons is a valuable contribution; such a conference could build upon our collective achievement during the Nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference. Furthermore, following the outcome of the NPT Review Conference, serious and comprehensive international pressure should come to bear on Israel to accede to the Treaty and to put its installations under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards. This would pave the way for the establishment of a zone free from weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East. Finally, in reforming global governance, the role and efficiency of the General Assembly, as the sole democratic, universal and transparent organ of the United Nations, must be augmented. It should focus its deliberations on contemporary challenges rather than hold outdated debates, coupled with effective responses to the reports of other organs of the United Nations, particularly the Security Council. Efforts to work out a special political role for the United Nations come at a time when the Organization is in one of the worst periods of its existence from a financial perspective. The tasks that the international community expects the United Nations to fulfil require more innovative ways of raising money for the smooth functioning of the Organization. In this context, it may be instructive to remember that if only a tiny percentage of the military expenditures of the Member States were allocated to the specific activities of the United Nations, the goal of creating a more secure global environment would be much more efficiently achieved. The current session of the General Assembly follows the Millennium Summit, the Inter- Parliamentary Union summit, the global gathering of religious leaders and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization roundtable on dialogue among civilizations. As such, it represents a tremendous and historic opportunity to take advantage of the political will expressed in those unprecedented gatherings, to operationalize their declarations and decisions, and to move the United Nations forward to an era of stability, justice, peace and good governance, through participation and the rule of law. Commensurate with such a historic opportunity, we are all accountable before our own people and the people of the world.