United Nations Programme of Assistance in the Teaching, Study, Dissemination and Wider Appreciation of International Law - Item 77 (A/81/417) Report of the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization - Item 83 (A/81/33, A/81/206)
🇮🇱 Israel, 🇵🇸 State of Palestine, 🇱🇾 Libya, 🇮🇷 Islamic Republic of Iran
Thank you, Madam Chair. It has become all too predictable that bad actors have attempted to hijack the proceedings of this committee for the sole purpose of demonizing my country and not for the first time while considering this item. Last year it was Oman on behalf of the Arab group. Today it was Libya on behalf of the same group who shamelessly questioned the State of Israel's membership in the advisory committee to the Programme of Assistance initiative, recycling the same copy and paste automatic talking points. Madam Chair, while we sit here today to consider the United Nations programme of assistance a perfect opportunity to discuss the enhancement and improvement of the teaching, study, dissemination and wider appreciation of international law, it was apparently Libya's turn, on behalf of the Arab Group, to divert the discussion into another pointless attempt to weaponize this forum against Israel. What was even more astonishing is that minutes before, desperately trying to create an artificial connection between the agenda item and Israel, and before trying to bully, isolate, and use shameless intimidation tactics against us, the Arab group made great proclamations about the need for inclusivity in their program of assistance initiative. What is perhaps even more remarkable is the apparent belief of the Palestinian delegation, non-member of the United Nations, that they are somehow entitled to determine which member states. Are fit to serve on United Nations bodies. If the Palestinian delegation is truly committed to fulfilling the program's mandate of, and I quote, dissemination and appreciation of international law, they have plenty of work to do at home. A good start would be to end the funding of pay for slay, rewarding the families of terrorists, stop glorifying terrorism, and exclude anti Semitic and terroristic propaganda from educational materials. Madam Chair, this tactic has grown old and tiresome, and frankly, it is difficult to see how yet another attempt to politicize the work of this committee served that important mandate before us. The programme of assistance exists to promote legal education and foster professional exchange across all regions. It was never intended and must never be allowed to become a political playground for those like the Arab group or the Palestinians who seek to undermine multilateralism whenever it suits their propaganda strategy. As I previously mentioned, the United Nations is a bubble full of hypocrisy. Madam Chair, outside this UN bubble, Israel has very strong and close relationships and cooperations with many of the Arab groups' members in many diverse spheres. Many Israelis interact, do business, advance mutual political interests, and partner with many colleagues from the Arab worlds. But here at the UN, today Libya and the Palestinians attempt to tell you a different story. It will not work. Madam Chair, colleagues, this should be a wake up call for every Member State that genuinely believes in equal representation, meaningful participation and inclusivity. I am a true believer in freedom of speech and hold that everyone is entitled to represent their interests. However, no one should be singled out. This is a very dangerous trend and an extremely slippery slope. Today it was Libya and the Palestinians against my country. Tomorrow it could be you. We must never allow these trends to become normalized, nor should we ever allow bullying and the singling out of individual member states to become accepted practice. The United Nations was born out of the lessons of history from a time when the international community failed to prevent the breakdown of the international relations. This organization was founded on the fundamental principles of equal participation and representation. We have a responsibility to safeguard and uphold these principles, not only when go when doing so is convenient, but especially when doing so is challenging. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Madam Chair, for giving me the floor. Once again, the Israeli delegation is attacking the delegations in this room, this time attacking the Arab group, calling them dead actors, show calling, showcasing and demonstrating the lack of qualities that the Israeli delegation has to serve as a member state on the Advisory Committee on International Law. And then proceeded to call the United Nations full of hypocrisy. But still. Insist that they deserve to be a member of the United Nations, let alone a member committee a member on the Advisory Committee on International Law. No one demonizes Israel more than Israel demonizes itself with its continued violations and crimes, and no one singles Israel more than Israel singles itself with its criminality. Name another member state that violates every international law and every UN resolution and then voluntarily sets on the advisory committee of international law. And again, as a member of the advisory committee, I believe that the delegations have the right to ask Israel what part of international law is Israel disseminating? I uh I believe the Israeli delegation owes us an answer. Thank you.
Sukhan. Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm not surprised by this response. from the delegate of the state of occupation. I do not know how he can theorize and uh accuse this organization of hypocrisy when they are the state m that most violates the resolutions and norms and charter of this organization. It will be more suitable to self reflect and uh uh review their actions over the decades that have passed, and not to lecture us. In a manner that is not uh compatible with any custom or international law. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Um I'll be brief. I'm not sure if I need to do a point of order or a right of reply. But uh just to put the record straight as in a matter of accura accuracy I haven't said uh about anyone that is dead actor. I said bad actors. So I think that you know this is another way of manipulation or try like to take my language out of context, but just for the matter of accuracy, I said bad actors. Um the other thing I'm not sure that worth a reaction. Um, I believe that you know, as the book of Exodus reminds us in chapter 1, verse 12, the casharia nuto can irbe the keni froze, but the more they thought to oppress us, the stronger we grew. So the only everyone who tried to intimidate us to single it out to singling us out or to attack us in the room, I could just say, we are here, we are members of this United Nation, there is no there is no questionable on that, and we are members of the advisory opinion, we uh with the advisory uh committee, sorry. And uh we are proud to be a member of this advisory committee and we will stay there and I don't uh think that I need to react or respond or to answer to any question raised in this room. Um thank you.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Um so after proceeding after um uh calling the the delegations uh of the unfull of hypocrisy, the Israeli delegation just admitted to have called the other delegations bad actors. Again, demonstrating their unfitness to be a member of the United Nations, let alone a member of the advisory committee, but they seem to be proud to be a member of the advisory committee, and so we did ask um what part of international law are they disseminating, and we still have not received an answer. Not receiving an answer, of course, is an indication of what international law Israel um is respecting. Thank you. Yeah. je remercie
Ismallorah Monraheem. Thank you, Madam Chair. We categorically reject the baseless allegations leveled against my country. We reiterate that the measures taken by the Islamic Republic of Iran in response to the belatent aggression against it were undertaken in exercise of our inherent right of self defense in accordance with international law, including international humanitarian law. The politically motivated narrative advanced against my country seek to reverse the role of victims and aggressors by portraying Iran's defensive measures as though they had occurred in a vacuum. The fact giving rise to the exercise of a right of self-defense cannot be disregarded. On 28 February 2026, my country was subjected to a brutal, unprovoked, and permeditated aggression by the United States and the Israeli regime, resulting in the killing of thousands of Iranian civilians, including women and children. This aggression, unfortunately, was facilitated by certain countries in the region that placed their territories at the disposal of the aggressor for for the conduct of such inest attacks against my country. The prohibition of aggression is a peremptory norm of international law, and definition of aggression contained in Resolution 33/14 of General Assembly expressly identified as an act of aggression the action of a state in allowing its territory to be used by other states for perpetration of an act of aggression against a third state. It is therefore particularly troubling that certain states which facilitated the aggression against my country now seek to condemn the unlawful defensive measures taken in response. All countries who place their territories at the disposal of aggressors against my country are responsible under international law, not just for aiding and assisting in these grave violations and international wrongful acts, but also in violating obligations in prohibition of aggression. Our position regarding Security Council resolution, so called resolution 2817, is clear and has been reflected in terrome and documents S s 2026 slash 202 and S slash 2026 and slash 389, and we have responded to those allegations before, also in relation to the uh Strait of Hormones. Uh just rejecting the claims of the European Union on a so-called Iran Sanction Committee, I have to mention that on 18 October 2025, person to operate paragraph 8 of UN Security Council Resolution 2231, all its provisions and those of the preceding terminated sanction resolutions were terminated and have no continuing legal effect. No previously terminated measure may be restated or enforced from that day forward. Any attempt to do so is unlawful, null, and void. As such, claims of so called restablishment of the UN Security Council sanctions mechanism are unlawful and devoid of any legal value. This position has also been actively reiterated by many Member States inter inter alia through joint statements, including the special communicate of a group of countries contained in Document A slash eighty slash six to five, as well as joint letters of the Islamic Republic Republic of Iran, China, and the Russian Federation, the latter to being permanent members of the UN Security Council contained in Document Slash 2025 slash seven eight three, among others. I try to be brief given the concentration times. Thank you. Yeah. je remercie le représentant
Verbatim from the transcript. A reply is identified from its own words, the Chair's grant, or its place in the right-of-reply sequence; delegations and addressees follow the transcript's attribution.