Remarks by His Excellency Dr. Kazem Gharibabadi Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Of the Islamic Republic of Iran

At the OIC Preparatory Council of Foreign Ministers for The Extraordinary Arab Islamic Summit on the Situation in Palestine and Lebanon Riyadh Saudi Arabia 10 November 2024

 

بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم

Mr. Chairperson,

Dear Colleagues,

At the outset, I would like to express my gratitude to the honorable Foreign Minister of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia for convening this meeting in light of the pressing situation in our region. We also commend and Secretaries-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the League of Arab States for their support.

Today, what is going on in Palestine, especially in the Gaza Strip, and also in Lebanon, is a source for grave concern and indignation for humanity and a double injustice to a nation that, for over seven decades, has been deprived of any right and dignity amid aggression and occupation.

Fully enjoying the comprehensive support from the United States of America and its Western allies, the Zionist regime has not only perpetrated the most heinous crimes, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing, racial discrimination, and genocide against the oppressed people of Palestine but also as a spoiled offspring under the support of the Western political system, continues to evade accountability, responsibility, and punishment for its abhorrent crimes.

The Palestinian nation undoubtedly possesses the inherent right to defend itself and resist occupation and aggression. This is a legitimate right that does not require permission from any external party.

Mr. Chairperson,

While commending all collective and individual efforts of the Member States following last year’s Extraordinary Summit, we must acknowledge that, regrettably, these efforts have not yielded the expected results. As we consider our support for Palestine and Lebanon moving forward, we would like to share with other colleagues some views as follows for inclusion in the Summit’s outcome document: 

1. We believe that certain provisions of the resolution adopted by the first Islamic Arab Extraordinary Summit in 2023 such as exerting pressure on the Israeli Regime to accept and comply with an immediate ceasefire in Palestine and Lebanon, immediate and unconditional reopening of the access routes to humanitarian aid for the needy Palestinians, release of all Palestinian prisoners and dignified repatriation of all Palestinian refugees to their homes, and the provision of international assistance to start the reconstruction of the areas affected by the Zionist regime aggression remain vital and should be highlighted in the outcome document.
2. In light of the Israeli regime’s recent hostile actions against the legitimacy of the UN such as shredding the UN Charter, declaring the UN Secretary General as a persona non grata, banning the UNRWA operations in the occupied territories, killing hundreds of the UN staff active in the field of provision of humanitarian services for the Palestinian civilians, and complete ignorance of the ICJ provisional orders, violating the various provisions of the UN Charter specifically Art.2, para IV, it is high time to embark upon the expulsion of the Israeli regime from the UN.
3. Imposing comprehensive arms, energy, trade and economic sanctions against the Israeli regime and all entities and corporations supporting this regime’s occupation of Palestine by all member states is an urgent and necessary action to protect the Palestinian and Lebanese people from Israel’s military aggressions and systematic human rights and humanitarian violations.
4. The Summit should strongly condemn the Israeli aggressions extended to other countries in the region including Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, as a deliberate policy of dragging the entire region into an all-out war and conflict in line with its own evil interests.
5. Considering the ICJ finding that Israeli occupying regime, is in breach of Article 3 of the CERD, concerning the prohibition on racial segregation and apartheid, the Summit should strongly support reconstitution of the UN Special Committee against the Israeli regime Apartheid.

I Thank you.