Mr. President,

My delegation wishes to express its appreciation for Amb. Verbeke's diligent work as the Chairman of the Security Council 1737 Sanctions Committee and his report to the Council today. Amb. Verbeke's leadership has been essential in the Committee's work thus far to establish its guidelines and move towards a substantive discussion of Member States' responsibilities and compliance with UNSCR 1737. Iran's compliance with all the resolutions of this Council and of the IAEA Board of Governors is essential, and we urge all Member States to stress the importance of this step in their regular discussions and consultations with Iran.

Mr. President,

We are pleased to note that many states have taken seriously their obligations under UNSCR 1737 and submitted reports on their implementation of the sanctions measures contained therein. My delegation found many of these reports extensive in their scope and discussion.

On the other hand, we also found some reports to be much less detailed in their treatment of the steps taken by Member States to enforce or enact laws or regulations to implement the resolution. We believe that it is essential for Member States to provide comprehensive descriptions of their actions to meet the obligations of UNSCR 1737 and, more generally, any UNSC resolution involving a reporting requirement.

Moreover, we are concerned that approximately 70 per cent of Member States have yet to submit their report to the Sanctions Committee. We urge those states that have not yet done so to fulfill this requirement without delay. Finally, my delegation notes that progress on defining the Committee's guidelines has been satisfactory to date and we look forward to the Committee resuming its substantive discussions in the near term.

Thank you, Mr. President.