Iran’s Ambassador to the United Nations Gholam Ali Khoshroo, said that the solution to the phenomenon of dust and mist pollution is serious national, regional, and international cooperation and added, “The adoption of the draft resolution proposed by the Islamic Republic of Iran at the UN General Assembly showed that this issue is a global concern.”
The Iranian diplomat made the remarks on Saturday in an interview with the correspondent of the Iran’s state-owned news agency IRNA in New York.
The Resolution on Combating Sand and Dust Storms (A/C.2/72/L.49), proposed by the Islamic Republic of Iran was approved by the UNGA on Wednesday.
“Thanks to the efforts staged by the Islamic Republic of Iran, today, the issue of dust storm and fine articles pollution has become a known global issue and the adoption of the resolution at UNGA proves that,” asserted the Iranian envoy to New York.
“On the outset, I see it necessary to remind you that the issue is twofold; from one perspective it is the cause of suffering for our people in Iran and the Iranian mission in New York is fully aware of the sufferings of the Iranians and that’s why the agenda of combating dust storm got our top priority,” reiterated Mr. Khoshroo.
“The second point is the approach to tackle this issue; I have to highlight that countering this problem demands serious, lose, and continuous endeavors and cooperation at the levels of national, regional, and international relations,” he noted.
“This resolution was adopted after two and a half months of negotiations reiterating that the sand and dust storms inflict serious economic, social, humanitarian, and environmental damages on a number of countries all around the world,” he added.
“Referring to the negative repercussions of the sand and dust storms on the health of people, resolution described this phenomenon as a serious barrier to achieving sustainable development,” articulated Mr. Khoshroo.
“In addition to stressing regional and international cooperation for resolving the problem, the resolution calls for immediate international action addressing the problem,” stated the Iranian diplomat.
“In fact, holding Tehran International Conference on Countering Sand and Dust Storms as the first international conference on the issue held in cooperation with the United Nations, is a significant issue at the international arena conducted upon the will of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” said the Iranian ambassador to UN.
The International Conference on Combating Sand and Dust Storms was held in Tehran between July 3 and 5, 2017 and resulted in the Ministerial Declaration and technical recommendations of the Conference.
Adopting a further draft on combating sand and dust storms, the United Nations recognized that such weather had inflicted substantial economic, social and environmental damage on the inhabitants of the world’s arid, semi‑arid and dry subhumid areas, underscoring the need to treat and promptly take measures to address them.
Confronting dust pollution requires a serious determination at the national as well as regional and international levels, he said, adding that this resolution provides the ground for regional and international cooperation in the area.
Iranian residents in the western and southwestern provinces that border Iraq are facing a growing trend in the influx of fine particles, which are generated by drought-hit marshlands in neighboring countries.
The disruptive dust storms have pushed pollution in those border areas to alarming levels, raising health concerns.
The particles, carried by winds, can penetrate the lungs and enter the bloodstream, causing serious diseases such as lung cancer, asthma and heart problems.
The Second Committee of UN General Assembly approved Iran's initiative to combat the dust pollution on early December before the draft resolution be proposed in the general assembly.
Stressing the role of UN development system in promoting international cooperation to combat the dust pollution, Iran calls for all relevant UN agencies in its resolution to address improving the capabilities of countries, especially through technical cooperation, early warning systems, exchange of experiences and the information in their future operational plans and measures to control the main factors of the pollution.
According to the resolution, an international summit to deal with dust pollution will be held in Iran next year, in cooperation with the United Nations.
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