Colombia’s ambassador to the United Nations, Mauricio Gaona, took the floor at the UN Security Council for the first time on Thursday, using the occasion to spell out his country’s stance on Iran’s nuclear program. “Today we reaffirm our commitment before the UN Security Council to nuclear non-proliferation and the verification regime in Iran,” Gaona wrote on X, adding that “without rules, there is no security.”
The session addressed whether to reinstate international sanctions on Tehran after it failed to halt its uranium enrichment activities, a move Russia and China have resisted. At the center of the debate was the so-called “snapback” mechanism, a provision built into earlier UN resolutions that allows sanctions to be automatically restored if Iran breaches its nuclear commitments.
Gaona argued that the mechanism remains valid and enforceable regardless of whether it ultimately succeeds in resolving the broader dispute. “The fact that this mechanism may or may not achieve its goal of resolving the conflict between the parties does not invalidate the agreement that established it, much less a Security Council sanction already in force,” he told fellow diplomats, warning that a narrower reading would undermine the Council’s ability to fulfill its mandate.
Read the full report at El Tiempo for more on Colombia’s position and the broader council debate.
Source: Claves del discurso del embajador de Colombia ante la ONU, Mauricio Gaona, en el Consejo de Seguridad (eltiempo.com). English version produced with AI assistance.
Image: Joseolgon, BY-SA 4.0 (via Openverse).