Anti-nations fake news contrary to UN Charter: Iran FM

Tehran, IRNA – Iran’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Hossein Amirabdollahian has warned that the generation and publication of fake content on social media platforms to target governments and nations are in contradiction with the United Nations’ Charter. Amirabadollahian made the remarks in the first session of the Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations in Tehran on Saturday, calling for improvement of cooperation among member states of the group in order to stand against unilateralism. The unprecedented deterioration of multilateralism and the emergence of uncontrolled unilateralism is contrary to international law, which has undermined the states’ compliance with the UN Charter, he added. Refusing residents of countries under sanctions to achieve their basic rights is a sort of crime against humanity, so the states imposing sanctions would be held accountable, the top diplomat mentioned. As to a trip by the United Nations’ special rapporteur on human rights to Iran, Amirabdollahian said that the rapporteur’s report confirmed the fact that the imposition of the embargo badly affected the lives of the Iranian people amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The effective resistance in dealing with the unilateral sanctions needs cooperation among independent states, he said, noting that the US has replaced compliance with legal commitments with bullying and lawlessness. On the 2015 nuclear deal, he argued that the Islamic Republic has abided by pursuing the peaceful process of negotiations to resolve the dispute over its nuclear dossier. The Iranian FM went on to say that unilateralism has a direct link with modern methods and misuse of new technologies and cyberspace to try to weaken governments and political systems of independent states. The preparation and publication of fake content against governments and nations on social media platforms are in contradiction to the integrity of independent countries in a bid to destabilize them, he argued. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran is hosting the international meeting, which is being held at the level of deputy ministers. The Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations was formed by 19 countries with the aim of preserving, upgrading, and defending the credibility of the UN Charter. The member states of the group comprise Algeria, Angola, Belarus, Bolivia, Cambodia, China, Cuba, North Korea, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Iran, Laos, Nicaragua, Palestine, Russia, Saint Vincent, and the Grenadines, Syria, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe. The group plans to promote international law, the UN Charter, and coordination concerning joint initiatives to strengthen respect for the objectives and principles of the UN Charter as well as values such as dialogue, tolerance, solidarity, and peaceful coexistence among nations. Follow us on Twitter @IrnaEnglish