Masoud Pezeshkian made the remarks in his maiden speech at the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York on Monday night local time.
Let's have a fair and prosperous future for our children, the Iranian president said while touching on a wide range of issues in the UNGA session that focuses this year on “acting together for the advancement of peace, sustainable development and human dignity for present and future generations”.
Some of the highlights of the Iranian president’s speech at the General Assembly are as followed:
International governance needs structural reforms
The Iranian president challenged unilateral sanctions, saying such actions by certain countries against others hinder the achievement of sustainable development goals set by the UN and this fact should be included in any UN document that is prepared for the future.
The Islamic Republic of Iran has already registered its views and considerations regarding the future document in this organization, Pezeshkian said, adding that the UN Secretary-General, with cooperation of the countries that are victim of unilateral sanctions should prepare a comprehensive report in this regard and present it to the UNGA.
Achieving peace and development requires respecting the right of countries to develop, paying attention to development priorities and cultural characteristics, observing the principles of fairness and equity, and implementing the obligations of developed countries toward developing ones, the Iranian president said.
"Strengthening multilateralism in order to deal with challenges such as war, discrimination, poverty, and hunger should be the basis of our joint work for the future," he emphasized.
We demand immediate reforms in the structure of international financial institutions in order to guarantee the presence of developing countries in decision-making, as well as the formation of a fair and responsible structure to meet the financial needs of these countries, he added.
Welfare, social justice among national priorities
The Iranian president enumerated some of the priorities of his administrations at home that he said include: Attention to health, public education, public welfare, social security, creating equal opportunities and reducing all kinds of inequality, appropriate distribution of incomes, strengthening family institution, reducing poverty and expanding social justice, and empowering women and youth.
He stressed on culture and family values, saying intergenerational dialogues are necessary to preserve those values, apart from paying attention to the role of women, girls and youth and their empowerment, which Pezeshkian said, is “undeniable”.
Nuclear weapons-free world
Pezeshkian used the UNGA podium to reiterate Iran’s longstanding demand of a world free of nuclear weapons and the West Asia region free of weapons of mass destruction without any preconditions.
"As a victim of terrorism, we have always been a pioneer in the fight against this sinister phenomenon and we are ready to cooperate with countries that are looking for a real fight against terrorism," Pezeshkian stressed.
The Iranian president went on to say that the Islamic Republic wants a strong, united, safe and stable region where resources of the countries are used for synergy in the direction of economic and social progress and solving common problems.
Slamming Israeli brutalities
Pezeshkian also tried to turn the world attention toward the Israeli genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, warning that no document will guarantee peace and development in a world where civilians are brutally killed and women and children are slaughtered by blind state terrorism.
The end of the occupation, the end of apartheid in Palestine and an immediate ceasefire in Gaza are prerequisites for the world peace, he added.
Pezeshkian, who is heading a high-ranking delegation to New York, in addition to addressing the UNGA, is scheduled to meet a number of heads of states as well as top officials representing other countries in the 79th session of the General Assembly.
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