Iran denounced a UN resolution to establish a panel on war crimes cases in Syria, stating that the measure could frustrate attempts to produce a political solution to the six-year-old conflict.
"We find the draft resolution to be an unconstructive move, on both legal and political grounds," Deputy Ambassador to the UN Gholamhossein Dehqani said in New York on Wednesday, Press TV reported. The resolution, "in its entirety, is in violation of the [UN] Charter and the fundamental principle of state sovereignty", he said.
Dehqani said law enforcement and prosecution of criminals fall strictly within the domestic jurisdiction of states, thus the establishment of an investigative mechanism without the consent of the Damascus government amounts to utter disregard for Syria's sovereignty.
"As such, this initiative is also in violation of the provisions of the UN Charter, including Article 2.7 by intervening in matters that are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of a UN member state," he said. Dehqani said the resolution "undoubtedly seeks to advance a political agenda under the disguise of seeking justice."
"It is noteworthy that after the retake of eastern Aleppo by the Syrian Army from the terrorists, suddenly different initiatives with a clear political agenda have been pushed at different levels," he said.
Dehqani said Iran has frequently reiterated that there is no military solution to the ongoing crisis in Syria, and Syrians should decide their political future by themselves. The Islamic Republic has also stressed the need for a genuine Syrian-led peace process to bring about peace and national reconciliation, he said.
Dehqani pointed to a Tuesday meeting between Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his Russian and Turkish counterparts, Sergey Lavrov and Mevlut Cavusoglu respectively, in Moscow, describing it as an example of putting political process back on track.
Not in Right Direction
The senior diplomat said, "This draft resolution before us today is not in the right direction, as it can undermine the efforts to foster a political solution to the crisis."
"By establishing an illegal investigation mechanism and introducing conditionality, this draft will serve no purpose other than creating impediments in the way of achieving a political solution for the crisis," he said. The draft resolution, he said, fails to address the root causes of terrorism in Syria, and will only serve with impunity those who have formed, financed, armed and ideologically nurtured terrorist groups and foreign terrorist fighters there.
On Wednesday, the UN General Assembly adopted a Lichtenstein-drafted resolution to set up a panel to compile Syria war crime cases.
The measure was co-sponsored by the United States, France, Britain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, which are known to be the major sponsors of militants fighting to unseat the Syrian government.
Turkey seems to have fallen in a policy puddle, not knowing where to stand: with those who are supporting militants fighting the Syrian government, or allies of Syria seeking a political reconcililiation.
