Addressing a Tuesday session of the UN General Assembly’s Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization), Gholam Ali Khoshroo expressed Iran’s views about the UN peacekeeping missions.
Voicing Iran’s preparedness to support the UN peacekeeping operations by deploying military and police forces, the envoy emphasized the need for peacekeeping missions to abide by the principles and purposes of the UN Charter.
Combatting sexual exploitation and abuse should remain a priority, with the home countries of perpetrators cooperating fully with investigations, he underlined.
Khoshroo also described protection of civilians as the primary responsibility of host countries, emphasizing that any military intervention by the UN or foreign forces under the pretext of providing such protection would not be acceptable.
The role played by regional arrangements and agencies should be in accordance with Chapter VIII of the Charter and should not substitute the role of the United Nations in any way, he stressed.
All Member States should be involved in making peacekeeping decisions and policies, the Iranian ambassador added, underlining the role of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations.
A number of other delegates also said that the role of UN peacekeeping operations had evolved dramatically over the years, noting that new tasks included addressing the political, security, humanitarian and development dimensions of complex crises, as well as ensuring the implementation of comprehensive peace agreements.