Iran conference to examine war environmental damage

Tehran, Nov 21, IRNA – Iran's head of Atomic Energy Organization is expected to join chairwoman of the Department of the Environment at a conference on Tuesday on the occasion of the International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict. Ali Akbar Salehi and Masoumeh Ebtekar in the conference to be held in Iran's Department of the Environment will also be accompanied by Salah Zawawi Palestinian Ambassador to Tehran who is going to deliver a speech, said Hooman Liaghati Head of Iranian Center for Peace and Environment on Monday. 'The message by the United Nations secretary general will also be read out in the ceremony,' Liaghati said. The CEO of Iran's Center for Peace and Environment said that the destructions caused by wars and conflicts across the world and particularly in the Middle East have inflicted serious damage to the environment and the damage is exacerbating as a result of the continuation of wars. On the agenda of the conference are the unrest in West Asia Region and the sinister phenomenon of dust storms overwhelming the region, he said. According to Liaghati, the terrorist activities by Daesh have caused serious environmental damage across the regional countries that need to be addressed. On 5 November 2001, the UN General Assembly declared 6 Nov of each year as the International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict. 1378/IRNA