Senior MP blasts UNSC silence over US, Israeli crimes against Iran
Iranian lawmaker Shamseddin Hosseini criticized the United Nations Security Council for its silence over US and Israeli crimes against Iran, saying the council's failure to act has further exposed the gap between the principles of the UN Charter and realities on the ground.
Speaking at the 153rd session of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Tanzania, Hosseini said large numbers of innocent people had been killed and extensive infrastructure had been destroyed during the attacks, while the Security Council had neither adopted a resolution nor condemned any aggressor over blatant aggression and crimes against civilians.
“Double standards are the main root of the erosion of the credibility of the United Nations, and we, as representatives of nations, cannot remain indifferent to this situation,” he said.
Hosseini, a member of Iran's parliamentary delegation, also referred to the US deadly airstrike on a school in Iran’s southern city of Minab on the first day of its aggression on February 28, saying the Security Council's silence over the deaths of 168 children would undermine confidence in the UN's commitment to maintaining international peace and security.
“If a school in Minab is destroyed by a missile and 168 children lose their lives in the classroom, and the Security Council remains silent in the face of this crime, then who will believe the promises of the UN Charter to maintain international peace and security?” he said.
Hosseini identified the use of force, violations of the fundamental principles of the UN Charter, continued occupation, genocide and unilateral coercive measures against independent states as among the most significant threats to international peace and security.
The Iranian lawmaker said the United Nations' existing mechanisms had lost their effectiveness and argued that shifting the organization's approach from addressing the consequences of conflicts toward tackling their root causes should be an important part of efforts to make it more effective.
“We are at a juncture where the gap between the ideals of the UN Charter and realities on the ground is becoming increasingly apparent,” Hosseini said.
He said the organization had repeatedly demonstrated its ineffectiveness, inaction and double standards, with its response in many cases being slow, selective and passive.
Hosseini also pointed to the Israel’s onslaught in Gaza, saying that the Israeli crimes there had continued for months and that the Security Council had been unable to adopt even a ceasefire resolution because of repeated US vetoes.