Good afternoon, hon members and hon Chair. As a country that remains firmly committed to the elimination of weapons of mass destruction, South Africa does not wish to see even one other country possessing or acquiring nuclear weapons, including Iran. South Africa's position is informed by our own national experience as the only country to have voluntarily dismantled its nuclear weapons and related programmes. In this regard, South Africa acts on the basis of the principles and in support of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the International Atomic Energy Agency, where we are active as a member of its board of governors.
During South Africa's membership of the United Nations Security Council in 2007 and 2008, we focused our efforts on trying to de-escalate tensions, promote dialogue, and establish confidence in Iran's nuclear programme to ensure that International Atomic Energy Agency processes were supported and Iran remained part of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The UN Security Council resolution framework on Iran is aimed at negotiated solutions. The United Nations Security Council is pursuing a dual-track approach of incentives and pressure, but in both instances the stated objective is a comprehensive negotiated solution. While recognising that the United Nations Security Council could be called upon to impose coercive measures such as sanctions, South Africa called for these measures to be exercised with great caution, and only to support the resumption of political dialogue and negotiations to achieve a peaceful solution. We reminded members of the United Nations Security Council that by voting in favour of sanctions, they had a special obligation to the Iranian people. We reminded them that they had to exercise the highest degree of scrutiny and oversight with regard to the implementation of the sanctions to ensure that there were no unintended consequences and the sole focus remained the nuclear programme.
In conclusion, South Africa upholds the right of all countries, including Iran, to the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, subject to appropriate safeguards. For South Africa, it is important to ensure that the international community's response to the Iranian situation does not deny any signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty the peaceful application of nuclear technology. I thank you for your attention.