¡¡Peacekeeping operations should strictly abide by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, China said on Tuesday.

¡¡Chinese Deputy Permanent Representative to UN Shen Guofang made the remarks at the Forth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) of the 54th session of the General Assembly.

¡¡In carrying out its responsibility in maintaining international peace and security, be it peacekeeping, preventive diplomacy, post-conflict peace-building or activities in other related areas, the United Nations should always follow the fundamental principles of respect for state sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs, Shen said.

¡¡In the post Cold War era, the international situation has indeed undergone significant changes, but the principles of respect for state sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs are far from outdated and deviation from or contravention of these principles will lead to the possibility that sovereignty will be willfully weakened and widely accepted norms of international relations severely damaged or even obliterated, Shen said.

¡¡Facts have proved that the success of UN peacekeeping operations in playing a unique role in facilitating the political settlement of conflicts and disputes should mainly be attributed to the observance of the principles of respect for state sovereignty, non-interference in internal affairs, fairness and neutrality, non-use of force except for self-defense and obtaining prior consent from parties concerned, Shen said.

¡¡To continue to play their due role under the new circumstances, peacekeeping operations must abide by the above principles that have been proven effective under the guidance of the purposes and principles of the Charter, he added.