UNITED NATIONS (Dispatches) -- Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations has called on the world body’s Department of Global Communications to ratchet up its efforts to inform the international community about the adverse effects of sanctions on the targeted countries.
Addressing a session of the UN’s Committee on Information, Majid Takht Ravanchi described coercive economic measures as contrary to the principles of the international law and the humanitarian law that have been specified in the UN Charter.
The sanctions have “both weakened economic growth in the target countries and come to prevent their access to basic medical equipment and materials by restricting access to overseas’ financial resources”, he said.
Separately, the envoy denounced some countries’ abuse of their monopoly of modern communication technologies towards “skewing the truth” about other countries, especially the developing nations.
“It is imperative that this unfavorable situation be immediately addressed by the international community,” he said.
Takht Ravanchi noted how some Western anti-Islam media outlets and officials were contributing to creation of “an atmosphere of hatemongering” around Islam and Muslims around the world by fuelling Islamophobia.
“The time has come for the international community to condemn this phenomenon and take the necessary measures that are aimed at fighting Islamophobia and violation of Muslims’ basic rights.”