L15 Iran EoV

Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)

Conference on Disarmament

General Assembly First Committee

UN Disarmament Commission

Special Session on Disarmament

Explanation of Vote

L.15/Rev.1

Improving the Effectiveness of the Methods of Work of the First Committee

Iranian Delegation

Mr. Chairman,

I have taken the floor to explain my delegation’s position on the resolution L.15/Rev.1 entitled “Improving the effectiveness of the methods of work of the First Committee”. Since this was the first time that such a resolution had been considered by the First Committee, my delegation dealt with it constructively and made clear its views on that during the informal consultations. We joined the consensus with the understanding that the issue involved in, namely the improving the methods of work of the First Committee could facilitate the broader effort within the over-all process of the General Assembly’s revitalization as it has been referred in preamble paragraph 3 of the current draft.

I should also affirm once again the important positions which have already been elaborated by NAM during the informal meetings of the First Committee, in which NAM emphasized that the First Committee should avoid piece-meal approaches. Furthermore, the aim of the current initiative should be limited to the methods of work. Therefore, any suggestion which may involve the First Committee’s actual reform, should not be carried out in isolation form the over-all process of the General Assembly’s revitalization, and should comprehensively address issues concerning disarmament machinery.

In our view, the current draft should have been a merely procedural resolution and should not have been touched upon the substantive issues. However, it did.

In this regard, my delegation would like to express that existing threats to international peace and security, referred in preamble paragraph 1, particularly from the continued existence of nuclear weapons and of their possible use or threat of use must be dealt with as the highest priority. In considering the new threats, one should not also lose sight of the fact that the doctrines of pre-emptive attacks, lowering the threshold of possibility of the use of nuclear weapons, development of new mini nuclear weapons, setting up of exclusive grouping parallel to the UN, proliferation of the unilateral and lawless use of force, with or without justification, as put by the Secretary-General in his GA statement, are among the most dangerous new threats to the international peace and security.

As my delegation stated in the general debate, “we welcome any proposal aimed at enhancing the efficiency of the UN bodies, including the first committee. In this endeavor, however, the views of all Member States must be taken into account and priority should be accorded to the long-sought objective of humanity, namely nuclear disarmament.”