NOURNEWS- The Honorable Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran gave a speech in the presence of a number of UN officials, officials of humanitarian institutions, religious institutions, university professors, and some foreign ambassadors residing in Geneva regarding the current developments in Palestine and the aggression of the Zionist regime in Gaza.
The full text of the Iranian Foreign Minister's speech is as follows:
In the name of God
Mr. President
Dear participants
I am grateful to the Geneva Humanitarian Dialogue Center for hosting this dialogue and to my colleagues in the Islamic Republic of Iran for coordinating this initiative.
We in the city of Geneva, which is known as the world center of humanitarian discussions, and in an organization whose title is “humanitarian dialogues” and whose mission and responsibility is defined as “dealing with humanitarian affairs”, want to talk about the most urgent humanitarian crisis in the world today. That is, let's discuss Gaza.
Dear Friends
The choice of Geneva to hold this conversation was not without reasons, the choice of this time also has a clear reason also.
Geneva has been the place of development and compilation of the most important achievements of human civilization to make war a little more humane. The four Geneva Conventions of 1949 are considered to be the essence of the historical effort of mankind for the humane regulation of armed conflicts, according to their common article, all governments are not only obliged to comply with its rules but also to ensure that others comply with them. The principle of “Respect and Ensure Respect” is a key principle in the law of armed conflict. In addition, Geneva is the place of drafting two supplementary protocols to the Geneva Conventions. According to Protocol No. 1 of 1977, the armed struggle of people under foreign occupation or people under apartheid to gain the right to self-determination as an international armed conflict is included in the rules and principles of the law of war. From this point of view, the Palestinian resistance is a liberating and legitimate movement, not a terrorist group. Another point is that there is no logic and basis for assigning the right of legitimate defense to the occupying regime.
In terms of timing, the meeting will be held on the 40th day of the ceaseless bombing of Gaza and just three days after the summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on November 18 in Jeddah. In the 11th paragraph of the final resolution of the summit, the Islamic countries are obliged to increase diplomatic efforts to shed light on the humanitarian disaster in Gaza and to try to stop war crimes against the defenseless people of Palestine.
My presence in Geneva and in this meeting at the center of humanitarian dialogues and intensive consultations that I will have with some international organizations based in Geneva are all in line with the fulfillment of the duty that, in addition to being the minister of foreign affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, on behalf of the nation of Iran and based on the responsibility assigned by the OIC organization, I take it upon myself.
Honorable audience
Today, talking about international humanitarian law and the necessity of observing it is not a theoretical and abstract discussion. On the contrary, today is exactly one of those critical times to show that what we have talked about for years in diplomatic conferences and academic circles and enumerated its merits, is used in the practical field and is considered valid. The status and legal and moral validity of international humanitarian law has been subjected to a very serious test. Let us not allow an occupying and apartheid entity to challenge and mock the dignity and credibility of international systems in the field of humanitarian rights.
All of us, as representatives of governments and all of us as human beings, have a duty and responsibility to stop the catastrophic lawlessness that every second is destroying, killing, and annihilating everything. Article one of the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 defines our duty. Article 1 of the Genocide Convention has also clarified the legal duty of states to prevent genocide, a duty which, according to the express opinion of the International Court of Justice, has an extraterritorial nature.
The occupying regime insists on not observing and grossly violating international humanitarian law and committing crimes that are simultaneously described as war crimes, genocide crimes, and crimes against humanity, but this should not only cause us to be inactive, but it should also make us move towards our commitment to “ensure compliance” with the rules of the Geneva Conventions and prevent a full-scale genocide even more consistent. Inattention to the continuous, obvious and severe violations of humanitarian rights is an irreparable blow to the principle of the rule of law and the validity of international law.
It is said that the volume of bombs and explosives used against Gaza in these forty days was more than three times the explosive power of the American atomic bombs used in Hiroshima.
NOURNEWS