S/PV.5702 Security Council

Mr. President, our delegation wishes to express its appreciation for your continued leadership as the Chairman of the Security Council’s 1737 Sanctions Committee and for your report to the Council today. Your efforts were essential in the Committee’s establishment of its guidelines on 30 May 2007, and they continue to be critical as the Committee now shifts to a discussion of substantive matters. Ninety days have passed and, unfortunately, we cannot report that Iran has complied with either resolution 1737 (2006), adopted on 23 December 2006, or resolution 1747 (2007), adopted on 24 March 2007. To the contrary, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General ElBaradei’s report to the Council and to the IAEA Board of Governors on 23 May confirms that Iran has failed to suspend its uranium-enrichment- and heavy-water-related activities and to cooperate fully with the IAEA in its ongoing investigation. Instead, Iran has taken steps to limit the IAEA’s access to the Arak heavy water research reactor and has announced a suspension of implementation of the early declaration provisions of its IAEA Safeguards Agreement; the legitimacy of these steps has been refuted by the IAEA, but Iran’s decisions in this regard are deeply troubling. We continue to urge all Member States to stress to Iran the importance of its compliance with its obligations in their regular discussions and consultations with Iran and the benefits that will accrue to Iran in return for compliance. In that regard, I would like to reiterate that the generous package offered to Iran in June 2006 by the Permanent Five (P-5) plus one remains on the table. We believe that this package and the historic offer extended by the United States to engage in direct talks with Iran, alongside our P-5 plus one partners, should Iran suspend enrichment, represent the best path towards a diplomatic solution of this matter. It is our hope that the Iranian regime will change its current confrontational course, suspend its proliferation-sensitive nuclear activities and engage in constructive negotiations on the future of its nuclear programme. We are pleased to note that so many States have taken their obligations under Security Council resolutions 1737 (2006) and 1747 (2007) seriously, and have submitted timely and substantive reports on their implementation of the measures contained therein. Our delegation found many of these reports informative in their scope and discussion. On the other hand, we found some reports to be less than detailed in their treatment of the steps taken by Member States to enforce or enact laws or regulations to implement the resolution. Comprehensive descriptions of those steps are necessary in order for members of the Committee to have a complete picture of Member State implementation of resolutions 1737 (2006) and 1747 (2007). We encourage States to provide the greatest detail possible when responding to these reporting requests and, more generally, to any such requests set forth in Security Council resolutions. We are pleased to note that many States have responded to the Security Council’s call for implementation reports for resolution 1747 (2007) but are concerned that only 40 per cent of Member States have submitted reports as required by resolution 1737 (2006). We urge those States that have not yet done so to fulfil this requirement and to ensure the implementation of those resolutions without delay. Finally, we also take note of numerous notifications invoking exemptions to the asset freeze requirements of Security Council resolution 1737 (2006) under paragraphs 13 and 15 of that resolution and stress that Member States should be judicious in the application of those exemptions. We also encourage Member States, firms and financial institutions to close out quickly any existing legitimate contracts with designated individuals and entities. Our delegation looks forward to continuing to work with others in the Committee to execute our mandate under resolution 1737 (2006) and to ensure the most robust and comprehensive implementation possible of these critical resolutions in order to achieve their ultimate objectives.

There are no further speakers on my list. The Security Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on its agenda.