Statement , briefing on the 1737 Committee concerning Iran, at the UN Security Council

Mar 21,2012

Thank you, Mr. President.

I would join other colleagues in thanking Ambassador Nester Osorio for presenting the 90-day report of the 1737 Committee. We commend his stewardship of the Committee and as also the professionalism with which the Committee has been implementing its mandate.

Mr. President, the Panel of Experts is mandated to assist the Committee in the implementation of the relevant resolution and has to work under the direction of the Committee. We appreciate the work, including outreach activities, that the Panel has been doing and encourage it to continue its work in strict compliance with the relevant resolutions of the Security Council in an independent, objective, transparent and impartial manner. The Panel should also brief the Committee regularly on all its activities.

During the reporting period, the Panel has submitted several reports, including a quarterly update on the implementation reports of the Member States submitted during the period from 1 November 2011 to 31 January 2012. We thank the Panel for these reports, which we are carefully studying. In January this year, three members of the Panel visited India. They had a useful exchange of views with the concerned authorities in New Delhi.

Mr. President, India has consistently supported the right of all nations to peaceful uses of nuclear energy in accordance with relevant international treaties to which they are a party. Iran should fully cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to restore the confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of its nuclear programme. In this connection, we welcome the recent exchanges between Iran and the IAEA.

We hope that the outstanding technical issues concerning the Iranian nuclear programme will be resolved peacefully through Iran’s cooperation with the IAEA. We also welcome the decision to resume talks between the P5 + 1 and Iran. These talks should serve as an important confidence building measure and help avoid escalation of the situation.

Mr. President, India supports the full implementation of relevant resolutions of the Security Council concerning the Iranian nuclear issue. While implementing these resolutions, it is necessary that all efforts should be made so that legitimate trade and economic activities do not suffer.

In conclusion, Mr. President, we support the Chair’s intention to hold an open briefing along with the Coordinator of the Panel of Experts in April 2012 for interested member-states on implementation procedures. This briefing will also serve as a useful opportunity for the members of the Committee and the Panel to get views of the wider UN membership.

I thank you.