President Hassan Rouhani said some governments need to go through a "genuine" democratization process if security threats are to be addressed effectively worldwide.
Addressing the 71st UN General Assembly in New York on Thursday, Rouhani also called for a "real" commitment and contribution from the entire international community to the campaign against terrorism.
"The future of our region rests on dealing with fundamental challenges such as security crises, due to the inefficiency and the lack of legitimacy of governments," he said, according to a transcript of his remarks carried by his official website.
“We won’t be able to combat criminal and terrorist networks without genuine democracy and without a real participatory approach at the national and transnational levels … To uproot violence in the region, there is no choice but to focus on promoting democracy, citizenship rights and economic development.”
The president singled out Saudi Arabia, denouncing it for pursuing what he called “divisive policies” that have bedeviled peace efforts in the region.
“If the Saudi government is serious about its vision for development and regional security, it must stop pursuing divisive policies, spreading the ideology of hate and trampling upon the rights of neighbors, accept its responsibility for the protection of the lives and dignity of pilgrims and build its relations with the regional nations on the basis of mutual respect and accountability,” he said.
Interventionist Policies
Rouhani blamed the interventionist policies of world powers for the spread of extremism and terrorism across the world which, he said, was triggered by the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York’s twin towers.
“Security has become a global problem at a time when major powers are mainly focusing on advancing different methods of repression and military intervention under the pretext of creating a secure environment for their citizens,” he said.
“The genesis of borderless violent extremism and terrorism could be attributed to the security strategies developed by major powers in the past 15 years.”
The president reiterated Iran’s principled approach to develop constructive partnership with neighbors for establishing an enduring order based on shared security.
“Attempts to turn religious dissimilarities into tense confrontations are rooted in vested interests of certain countries, which try to hide their quest for power covered by religious slogans,” he said, in an apparent allusion to Saudi Arabia.
“Iran considers it imperative to preserve territorial integrity of states, keep national borders intact, enhance peoples’ right to self-determination and uphold the principle of refraining from the threat or use of force. We also reiterate the need to use diplomacy for conflict resolution,” he said.
Rouhani urged regional states to boost cooperation by building on commonalities to avert the repetition of history a century ago when many countries disintegrated.
“We believe that countries in our region can create their shared future by relying on their common history and culture and isolating terrorist groups. We should never allow our region to once again face the risk of a new dismemberment following the one that took place close to a century ago,” he said.
