MojNews_ Majid Takht Ravanchi made the remarks on Monday in the first substantive session of the UN Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG) on Conventional Ammunition.

In his address, the Iranian ambassador said, “...We believe that conventional ammunition should be handled with caution, taking into account the legitimate needs and concerns of member states, including the need to address their national security concerns.”

“The elaboration of any framework to manage the conventional ammunition... must not jeopardize the legitimate rights of all states to the inherent right to individual or collective self-defense,” he added.

“This inherent right should encompass the right of each state to manufacture, import, and retain the non-prohibited weapons and ammunition for self-defense and security purposes,” Takht Ravanchi noted, warning that “criminal groups and terrorist organizations must be denied access to these weapons.”

“The final document of the OEWG should reflect its voluntary and nonbinding nature while encompassing various positions of the member states,” he noted, Press TV reported.

“The outcome document should reaffirm the state's inherent right to individual or collective self-defense,” the Iranian envoy added, noting, “It is the sovereign prerogative of Member States to decide, oversee, and manage the safety and security of their conventional ammunition.”

According to the UN website, the first substantive session of the OEWG on Conventional Ammunition focuses on substantive agenda items 4 "General exchange of views" and 5 - "Elaboration of a new global framework that will address existing gaps in through-life ammunition management.”

The four-day session began on May 23 and is attended by Izumi Nakamitsu, Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs.

The OEWG was established following resolution 76/233 adopted by the General Assembly on December 24, 2021.