Iran ready to support UN peacekeeping missions

TEHRAN, Oct. 26 (MNA) – Iran's Ambassador to the United Nations Gholamreza Khoshroo announced Iran is ready to provide assistance to peacekeeping operations and missions through the provision of support services, deployment of military and police forces. Speaking during the 71st Session of the United Nations General Assembly on the agenda item 51, “Comprehensive Review of the Whole Question of Peacekeeping Operations in All Their Aspects," on Tuesday, Khoshroo said the Islamic Republic of Iran believes that the creation of any mechanism for dealing with the challenges facing with peacekeeping operations, must end with respect to the purposes and principles in the UN Charter and other principles governing peacekeeping operations. The full text of Mr. Khoshroo's remarks is as follows: Allow me to begin by expressing my appreciation to Mr. Herve Ladsous, Under Secretaries-General for peacekeeping operations, and Mr. Atul Khare, Under Secretary-General for Field Support, for the efforts they have made in the area of the United Nations peacekeeping as well as for their efficient leadership over their Departments. I associate myself with the statement made by the distinguished Deputy Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Morocco on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement. My delegation pays tribute to men and women who served under the flag of the United Nations, especially those Peacekeepers, who lost their lives in the cause of peace and tried hard to defend the honor of the UN and uphold the positive image of the Organization and its Peacekeeping operations. My delegation continues to emphasize the importance of the role of the United Nations peacekeeping operations, and in this context I would like to bring the followings to your attention: 1- We believe that in establishing any mechanism by the United Nations in order to meet the needs and address challenges as a result of the complex nature of peacekeeping, deploying peacekeeping operations or extending mandates of an existing peacekeeping mission, ultimate care should be taken to observe the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter and those basic principles of peacekeeping operations which have been reflected in the annual report of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations (C34) and agreed upon by the whole membership. In this context, Iran emphasizes that principles such as consent of the parties, the non-use of force except in self-defense, impartiality, the respect for the principles of sovereign equality, political independence, territorial integrity of all States and non-intervention in matters that are essentially within their domestic jurisdiction should be strictly observed; 2- Emphasizing the need to uphold the highest standards of conduct and discipline for United Nations personnel, including UN peacekeepers, we stress that combating misconduct, especially sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) should remain one of the priorities for the UN in conducting Peacekeeping operations. We urge the Secretary-General to continue to implement the “policy of zero tolerance” on misconduct, including the sexual exploitation and abuse and take decisive actions in this regard. In this regard, the country of the perpetrator/s should fully cooperate during the investigation process. Albeit, in dealing with cases of SEA utmost care should be taken in order to avoid mishandling of allegations, as a victim’s rights is important. Likewise, it is important to avoid shaming and naming of a country whose national/s may be accused of misconduct. 3- Protection of Civilians (PoC) is the primary responsibility of host countries and, where it is mandated,peacekeeping operations should aim to support the national efforts in host countries to protect their civilians. Therefore any military intervention by the United Nations or by any foreign forces under the pretext of protection of civilians is not acceptable; 4- The use of modern technologies and intelligence in peacekeeping missions for the purpose of increasing safety and security of UN personnel- in light of increasing complexity of peacekeeping missions-is understandable.However, we emphasize that the legal aspects of using modern technologies and intelligence should be defined in appropriate intergovernmental processes; 5- The regional arrangements and agencies are important factors in maintaining regional peace and security. However, since the Primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security rests with the United Nations, it is quite clear that the role of regional arrangements and agencies in that regard should be in accordance with Chapter VIII of the Charter of the United Nations, and they should not in any way substitute the role of the United Nations or disengage the Organization of its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security; 6- Iran emphasizes that all member states must be involved in the policy and decision-making process in all aspects, dimensions and stages of peacekeeping operations. In this regard, we emphasize the unique, indispensable and irreplaceable role of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations (C-34) as the only intergovernmental forum mandated by the General Assembly to review comprehensively the whole question of United Nations Peacekeeping Operations in all their aspect; 7- United Nations Police plays an important role in a peacekeeping mission and in a post- peacekeeping era in those countries that request assistance from the United Nations. UN Police can assist such countries, upon their request,to establish rule of law, reinforce or re-establishes domestic police services to create appropriate conditions for sustainable peace and development,support host-state counterparts to develop community-oriented policing, mentors, and train host-state police officers or provide specialization in different types of investigations. Having considered such useful services by the UN police to the host-states, we believe that UN Policing capacity should be strengthened. In this regard, we are of the view that all issues pertaining to the UN Policing should be dealt with in the C-34 as the only intergovernmental forum to review all the issues relating to the UN Police; 8- We believe that the principle of equitable geographical distribution should be fully taken into account in staffing the headquarters and agencies in the fields at all levels; In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, while, once again,paying tribute to the United Nations Peacekeepers who have lost their lives in the cause of peace, I would like to express my government’s readiness for contributing to the UN peacekeeping operations logistically and militarily by deploying troop to the peacekeeping missions.