Madam Chairperson, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am giving my speech today on behalf of PADMAZ. I will focus on the environmental crisis happening in Ahwaz as a consequence of the Iranian Government’s policies. These have become a serious threat to the existence of the indigenous Ahwazi people. The Iranian regime violates the rights of the Ahwazi people with its policy of dam- and tunnel-building to divert the region’s rivers. The building of over 100 of these structures has resulted in the drying-up of the rivers and marshland. This is a violation of international laws with respect to water rights and legislation. Please refer to the Convention No (51/229 -dated 8/July/1997) on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Water Courses, and the United Nation’s declaration No. (61/295 - dated 13/Sep/2007) on safeguarding indigenous people’s rights. As a result of these policies, the level of water-flow in The Karoun River has decreased from 500 cubic metres per second to 50; a situation in which the flow of dust-laden drainage-water exceeds the flow of clean water. The Iranian policy has led to the drying-up of the Ahwazi Marshland. The HOR AL-ADIM territory has decreased from 3,500 square kilometres in the 1970’s to 200 in 2016. In spite of being protected by The Ramsar Convention, the HOR AL-FALAHIA (Shadegan) has now been placed in the ‘Red List’, highlighting the Iranian Government’s disregard for International Law. The people of Ahwaz suffer 200 days of dust-storms per year caused by the drying of the rivers and marshland and resulting soil erosion. The level of dangerous substances in the air has reached 767 milligrams per cubic meter. The normal level is 150 milligrams per cubic meter. According to the Iranian Statistics Centre, five thousand people are killed through environmental pollution per year. These deaths are directly attributable to the Iranian Government’s policies. Thousands of farmers have left their villages because of the drying-up of the rivers and wetlands. In 2014, 50,000 Ahwazi were hospitalised because of respiratory problems due to the high levels of dust contained in the rain. The number of people suffering from cancers and other life-threatening diseases has increased from 50% to 800% since the start of the Iranian Security Project. According to Shafa Hospital in Ahwaz, the number of children born with birth-defects has also increased as a result of environmental pollution.