Addressing the 63rd session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Iran’s Permanent Representative Ali Bahreini said unilateral coercive measures undermine peace, sovereign equality and peoples’ right to self-determination.

He also rejected the use of economic pressure against entire populations to achieve political objectives, stressing that fundamental rights, including the right to life and peoples’ right to self-determination, cannot be made conditional on submission to the demands of another state.

What follows is the full text of his speech:

Mr. Vice President,

The Islamic Republic of Iran welcomes Ms. Zaina Jallad as the new Special Rapporteur and appreciates her priorities.

Madam Special Reporter,

As United Nations experts have observed, unilateral coercive measures, constitute a colonial enterprise, undermining the basic conditions for peace in targeted countries. They are instruments of coercion that erode sovereign equality and peoples’ right to self-determination.

Iran’s experience demonstrates the dangerous convergence of economic and military coercion. Following the unlawful military attacks against our country, the United States has announced what it calls “economic warfare” and “the toughest sanctions in history”, threatening Iran’s economic partners while maintaining a naval blockade. These measures form part of a broader strategy to weaken an independent and resilient nation.

The findings of the report on the visit to Cuba further demonstrate the devastating human consequences of such policies.

No political objective can justify subjecting entire populations to economic coercion or making their fundamental rights conditional upon submission to the demands of another State. The right to life is not a bargaining chip, and the right of peoples to self-determination is not a privilege to be granted or withdrawn by powerful States. Both must be respected, without exception.

I thank you.