Comprehensive review of the whole question of peacekeeping operations in all their aspects - Item 51 Introductory statements, interactive dialogue and general debate
🇹🇷 Türkiye, 🇮🇱 Israel, 🇰🇵 Democratic People's Republic of Korea, 🇮🇷 Islamic Republic of Iran, 🇨🇾 Cyprus, 🇰🇷 Republic of Korea, 🇸🇾 Syrian Arab Republic
Thank you, Mr. Chair, for giving me the floor. I take the floor to respond to certain unfolded remarks made earlier concerning the Cyprus issue. The UN records clearly show that in response to the widespread and systematic attacks against the Turkish Cypriot people, the Security Council decided to deploy a peacekeeping force on the island in 1964. This alone demonstrates that the Cyprus issue did not originate in 1974, contrary to the misleading narrative often advanced by some. Despite the presence of AMFIC, the attacks against the Turkish Cypriots continued between nineteen sixty four and nineteen seventy four. The reasons that compelled Turkey as a guarantor power to undertake its intervention in nineteen seventy four, in accordance with the Treaty of Guarantee of nineteen sixty, are well known and thoroughly documented. These include the eleven-year-long atrocities targeting the Turkish Cypriots, the destruction of partnership states by the Greek Cypriot side, and the coup d'etat of 15 July 1974, which sought to annex the island to Greece. It was Turkey's intervention that prevented further violence and safeguarded the Turkish Cypriot people. Mr. Chair, we do not wish to take further time of the Fourth Committee with this matter. I will not be taking the floor again. The baseless allegations raised by a previous speaker will be duly addressed by their counterpart. the office of the Turkish Cypriot Representative, which regrettably remains absent from this discussion, due to the continued unlawful occupation of their seats. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. In response to the Iranian representative's remarks, I'm obliged to respond. Firstly, my predecessor, this committee, was not spreading accusations, she was stating facts. The Iranian regime continues to facilitate the proliferation of weapons to its proxies across the Middle East, including Hezbollah. Iran has supplied Hezbollah with thousands of rockets, missiles, and small arms, as well as provided them with financial and training support. It was only last month, on October 7, 2025, in Tehran, that the leader of Hezbollah, Naim Kassami, publicly thanked Iran for their support, praising the attack his terror organization launched at my country on October 8, 2023. Regarding the PKO surrounding Israel, I would recommend my Iranian colleague to broad sharp on his history, since those mandates followed wars that were forced upon Israel. By strengthening its proxies capabilities, cooperates within Unifield's area of operation, Iran is actively choosing to undermine UN peacekeeping efforts and the safety and security of peacekeeping personnel. And finally, Iran's destabilizing ideology is not confined to mere rhetorics, but seeks to create a tangible threat to security in the region as they embed themselves into territory infrastructure through their proxies in the region and beyond, such as Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Islamic Jihad. By doing so, they actively violate UN arms embargoes and Security Council resolutions, promoting instability, chaos, suppression, and terror. We call on the international community to adopt adequate and timely measures to curb the actions of the Iranian regime and hold them accountable. Mr. Chair, in regard to Syria's remarks, Israel is committed to the disengagement agreement and regional stability. Nonetheless, the ongoing developments within Syria's territory led Israel to take temporary defensive measures. The latest SG report on UNDOF demonstrates the need for Israel's continued temporary presence in the area. The findings assess that the security situation in some areas of the Bravo side remained tense and volatile, with continued military activity and localized violence, including compromising the safety and security of UNDE personnel. Israel reaffirms that IDF presence in the region is permitted solely an imminent security threats and its provision until stability is restored. I thank you.
Thank you, Chair. My delegation is compelled to respond to a statement made by the ROK. The UN command in the ROK is illegal from its inception. As far as Secret Council Resolution eighty four is concerned, it was forcibly adopted without the presence of the then Soviet Union, a permanent member of the Secret Council. It is an inflagrant violation of paragraph three, Article 27, which stipulates that decisions of the Secret Council. On all other matters shall be made by an affirmative vote of nine members, including the concurring votes of the permanent members. Moreover, there is no indication of the UN command in the Secretary Council resolution. However, the United States arbitrarily revised the phrase unified commands into the UN commands when it submitted the report on the activities of the commands to the Secret Council in July nineteen fifty. The UN command in the ROK is neither a subsidiary body of the United Nations nor is covered by the UN budget. Moreover, it is not the United Nations but the US which has the power to appoint the commander. On June 21, 1994, the UN the then UN Secretary General Putrus Kali, in his letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Democ DPRK, recognized that. I quote, The United Nations Secret Council did not establish the Unified Command as a subsidiary organ under its control and that it became to be placed under the authority of the United States. On December 21, 1998, the then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan made it clear in his letter to the President of the President of the Supreme People's Assembly of the DPRK. I quote None of my predecessors. Predecessors have granted any authorization to any state to make the use of the name of the UN un unquote. On September seventeenth, twenty eighteen, at the Secretary Council meeting under Secretary General for Political and Peace Building Affairs said, I quote, notwithstanding its name, the United Nations Command is not the United Nations operation or body, nor does it come under the command and control of the United Nations. Furthermore, it was not established as a subsidiary organ. Of the Secretary Council and is not funded through the United Nations budget. As such, there are no reporting lines between the United Nations Commands and the United Nations Secretariat. The above facts attest to the illegality of the UN command, which has no relevance to the UN. The US has been reviving the military functions of the UN commands one by one in line with its geopolitical purposes. At present, the US ROK joint military drills under the fate of complete nuclear attack scenario are becoming all the more provocative and aggressive with the highest recourse ever in history, thus raising the risk of a nuclear conflict on the Korean Peninsula. Moreover, those US led nuclear war rehearsals are being turned into the de facto multinational military drills involving even armed forces of the member states of the UN commands. As a matter of fact, the US is seeking to enhance work potentials of the UN commands and develop the institutional framework for deployments of the armed forces of the member states of the commands in contingency of the Korean Peninsula. The revival and expansion of the UN commands is a prelude to the establishment of the Asian version of NATO. Which will result in pushing the Asia-Pacific region deeper into the new Cold War, far from easing military tensions on the Korean Peninsula and beyond. All in all, the UN command in the ROK is never contributing to peace on the Korean Peninsula. On the contrary, it is a war oriented entity which disrupts peace and security in the Korean Peninsula and beyond. At the thirtieth plenary session of the General Assembly in nineteen seventy-five, two resolutions on the dissolution of the UN commands and withdrawal of the US troops from ROK were adopted. The illegal and aggressive UN command should be dissolved without further delay, and it is impressive for ensuring peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and beyond.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, for giving my delegation the floor to exercise its right of reply to the baseless allegations made by the Israeli regime against my country. Mr. Chair, distinguished colleagues, once again. We have witnessed a futile attempt by the Israeli delegation to conceal this regime's longstanding crimes, illegal occupation, and atrocities against innocent people by resorting to propaganda designed to obscure its ill nature. This tactic is not only directed against resistance groups of peoples under occupation and aggression, but also against those who stand in solidarity with them worldwide, including my country. Let us be clear, the apartheid regime cannot pretend to be the victim of this conflict. The resistance of peoples under occupation is a legitimate response to illegal occupation and aggression. Responsibility for the continuation of hostilities and hatred in the region lies solely with the Israeli regime, which has triggered, sustained, and aggravated the situation through unprecedented crimes against civilians, including women and children. The policy pursued by Iran in the question of Palestine is fully consistent with international law and the Charter of the United Nations. The actions and decisions by people under occupation or aggression are exclusively taken by themselves and grounded in their inherent right to self determination and their country self defense, and is a response to more than seven decades of oppressive occupation and repeated crimes committed by the Israeli regime. Atrocities that have been documented in numerous UN resolutions and legal opinions of competent international tribunals. However, consistently ignored by the occupying power. Accordingly, my country not only rejects terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, but actively combats it. My delegation categorically rejects the baseless allegations made by the apartheid regime of Israel against the peace loving nation of Iran, accusing it of supporting terrorism. In reality, Iran has been one of the greatest victims of terrorism, particularly in recent years, much of it committed or supported by Israel and its allies. In conclusion, Mr Chair, while categorically rejecting all accusations against our country, my delegation believes that the time has come for the international community to take all necessary measures to hold the Israeli regime accountable for its crimes against humanity, including its responsibility for the loss of peacekeepers' lives in PKOs as operations that have been required in response to its illegal actions in the occupied territories. I thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm obliged to exercise the right of reply in respect to the groundless allegations made by the Turkish delegation. My delegation rejects these allegations in total. I want to stress the importance of according respect to all members in this hall and addressing them with their official name. Cyprus is a United Nations member state, the only recognized state on the island under international law and Security Council resolutions 541 of 1983 and 550 of 1984. in which the Security Council calls calls upon all states to respect the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of the Republic of Cyprus. The international community has no doubts. The Republic of Cyprus represents and will continue to represent the whole of Cyprus and all Cypriots. It is both regrettable and provocative that Turkey yet continues its attempt to distort historical reality, especially with respect to its invasion of Cyprus in 1974 and its ongoing illegal occupation, continuing to express a position that blatantly contradicts Security Council resolutions And is inconsistent with international law in the UN Charter. I must refute the claims made here today regarding the Treaty of Guarantee. Nothing in this treaty can be constrained as allowing or legitimizing the use of force by one state against another. That would be a violation of the UN Charter, which clearly prescribes the circumstances and conditions under which the Security Council can authorize the use of force and as well as the principle that legal consequences exist in respect of the validity of treaties that are in conflict with with peremptory norms of general international law. I thank you.
Thank you, Chair, for giving me the floor. As the claim raised by the DPLK is beyond the scope of today's agenda, my delegation would not reiterate our position, just to point out that the claims is uh unfounded and misleading. Just two points. First, regarding the reference to the UN General Assembly resolution, we recall that two resolutions on the Korean issue were adopted at the session and resulting to only one certain provision, just one resolution out of context, misrepresent the fact. Second, I would like to point out that it is the DPRK that has continued to develop its unlawful nuclear and ballistic missile programs. in violation of multiple UN Security Council resolution. In this situation as our security is threatened, the US is maintaining ROK US combined defence and deterrence posture, including the conduct of combined training and exercise. I thank you.
Shukran Sidrais. I thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Representative of Israel this morning stated that the Israeli presence in the separation zone was temporary, but temporary until when? No one knows, and limited to what extent. No one can answer that either. And the representative of Israel said that this presence is a defensive measure. And we're wondering, defensive against whom? No one. Against a threat that doesn't exist. There's the nineteen seventy-four agreement. If that agreement is implemented by Israel, if it were, there would be sufficient guarantees for Israel and for Syria in the separation zone. Whether whichever line side of the line we're talking about, Alpha or Bravo, but Israel attacks civilians, and I haven't yet referred to all of these measures. There are abductions of farmer folk, uh Syrian shepherds, their livelihoods are undermined, Israel controls their water resources in addition to natural reserves. Uh very long standing reserves. What's the link between these measures and defence? And what's the What's Israel's goal? Thank you. Thank you. This was the last right of reply.
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.