Seminar on the Role of UN Secretariat and the Secretaries-General in fulfilling the objectives of the UN Charter

TEHRAN – Iranian Association of United Nations Studies (IAUNS) in partnership with UNIC Tehran organized a seminar on “the Role of UN Secretariat and the Secretaries-General in fulfilling the objectives of the UN Charter” at the House of Humanities Intellectuals on 11 March 2018.

Addressing some 200 university professors, researches and students as well as Foreign Ministry officials, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Legal and International Affairs Dr. Gholam Hossein Dehghani after referring to the four main purposes of the United Nations, said the Secretariat and the persons of the Secretaries-General have played an important role in achieving these four main UN objectives.

He said the Secretariat plays a key role regarding some negotiations as well as drafting of some UN documents. “In this respect, sometimes the Secretariat guides the Members States,” he added.

The Deputy Foreign Ministry said for this reason, the UN Member States try to have their own nationals as staff members of the Secretariat and sometimes these staff members influence decisions in the Secretariat.

UNIC Director Dr. Maria Dotsenko was the second keynote speaker of the conference and she emphasized in her speech: “The role of the Secretary-General in the UN has become of an overriding importance for the world since the UN was founded in 1945.  The UN Charter describes the Secretary-General as “Chief Administrative Officer” of the Organization, who shall act in that capacity and perform “such other functions as are entrusted” to him/her by the Security Council, General Assembly, Economic and Social Council and other UN organs.”

She also reminded that the UN Charter also empowers the Secretary-General to “bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security. These guidelines both define the powers of the office and grant it considerable scope for action.” 

She also said: “As a part of his “good offices” role, the Secretary-General makes use of his independence and impartiality as the head of a global organization to prevent and stop the spread of conflict” and brought out a few samples. 

She emphasized on the important role which Iran had in establishment of the UN and plays now in strengthening of the Organization and spoke about visits of 7 of 9 Secretaries-General to Iran.

Dr. Dotsenko greeted IAUNS for obtaining consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council and said that both organizations will benefit from this cooperation. 

Other speakers of the conference and topics of their speeches were:

Tehran University Professor Dr. Nasrin Mossaffa: SG’s job, the most impossible one,

Tehran University Professor Dr. Jamshid Momtaz: the UNSG’s activities regarding fight against terrorism,

Associate Professors from Kharazmi University Dr. Farideh Mohammadalipour and Ms. Maryam Zaremohammadi: Studying peace keeping operation and the role of UNSG, 

Allameh Tabatabaee University Associate Professor Dr. Pouria Askari: The UNSG and promotion and support for human rights,

Independent Researchers of international Law Dr. Hilda Rezaei: The UNSG’s role with regard to support for civilians in armed conflicts,

Foreign Ministry diplomat and former member of Iranian Mission to the UN Hq. Koroush Ahmai: The process and criteria for electing the SGs,

Tehran University Associate Professor Dr. Ali Ashraf Nazari: Political psychology: A comparative study of Boutros Boutros Ghali and Kofi Annan’s personalities,

UNIC Reference Assistant Ms. Nazanin Ghaemmaghami-Farahani: The Role of UNICs in fulfilling UN Charter’s objectives,

Bu Ali Sina University Associate Professor Dr. Rezvan Bagherzadeh: The UNSGs’ roles in international norms making, 

Sharif University Professor Dr. Abbas Maleki: Political Psychology of UNSG’s behavior during Iran-Iraq war, 

Tehran University Associate Professor Dr. Bahram Mostaghimi: Impacts of issues related to Iran on the UNSG’s responsibilities and duties,

Allameh Tabatabaee University Associate Professor Dr. Ghasem Zamani: The UNSG’s role on fight against using chemical weapons,

Tehran University Associate Professor Dr. Sirous Feizi: Javier Pérez de Cuéllar’, a Secretary-General for peace, justice: A paradigm for studying Iran-Iraq war, 

Bu Ali Sina Associate Professor Dr. Sattar Azizi and Graduate Student of Bu Ali Sina U. Ebrahim Rostami: Reviewing the role of UNSG and the Secretariat in safeguarding the Joint Comprehensive Plan Action.

The seminar ended with an interesting discussion and summarized by Shahid Beheshti University Professor Dr.Ebrahim Beygzadeh.

UN promotional materials were distributed at the event.