TEHRAN – Esmaeil Baghaei Hamaneh, Iran’s ambassador and permanent representative to the UN office in Geneva, said on Wednesday unwarranted sanctions have caused or contributed to inequalities.

“While each and every State has responsibility in providing equal opportunities… foreign interventions and manipulations, in particular in the form of unilateral coercive measures and unwarranted sanctions, have caused or contributed to such inequalities,” Hamaneh told the 40th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Following is full text of his speech published by IRNA:

My delegation aligns itself with the statements delivered on behalf of NAM, OIC and LMG.

My delegation thanks Madame High Commissioner for her update report.

We commend Madame High Commissioner for her critical and pragmatic thinking about human rights challenges and the ways and means to tackle them by ensuring constant progress.

We concur that ‘gross inequalities’ in its various manifestations risk sustainable and inclusive development and jeopardize peace and human rights by stirring grievances and fueling hatred and xenophobic sentiment. While each and every State has responsibility in providing equal opportunities, in its true meaning, for all, we need to be cognizant of the fact, too revealing to be contradicted, that foreign interventions and manipulations, in particular in the form of unilateral coercive measures and unwarranted sanctions, have caused or contributed to such inequalities.

'The coercive policies and measures, seemingly relentless, have caused economic hardship for the targeted populations and resulted in serious humanitarian consequences by violating the human rights, notably the right to food and the right to health of the targeted populations and jeopardizing their rights to life. What we are witnessing in Latin America, for instance, is a shocking case in point. Whether the imposed sanctions have acted as an ‘exacerbating’ element or employed as the ‘generating’ factor in this situation, one thing is clear and that is the broad adverse effects of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights.

I would also like to highlight the key importance of the ‘right to development’ as a driving force for addressing massive inequalities, to be seen in this context.

Imposing economic hardship on people to the extent that innocent men, women and children are starved even to death, being in the occupied Palestinian territories, or in Yemen or elsewhere is more than simple violation of human rights. They are genocidal and criminal amounting to serious crimes of international concern and should be treated as such. The proliferation of different blockades, here and there, including against people in Gaza, against a neighboring country in our own region, and elsewhere is a disgrace for humanity and a setback for human civilization. This is an alarming indication of the high level of impunity the perpetrators of such devastating measures continue to enjoy in pursuing their discriminatory and repressive policies.

Mr. President,

We agree with the High Commissioner that ‘human rights build hope’; so we would not back down in the face of gloomy pictures of human rights violations. We should stand ground and work together to ensure a brighter future for human beings, free from stereotypes, clichés and scapegoating.