UN Security Council president highlights true multilateralism
Chinese Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Zhang Jun, who took the rotating presidency of the Security Council, on Monday underlined the importance of practicing true multilateralism.
In his press conference on China's presidency for the month of May, Zhang told journalists at the UN headquarters in New York that based on the Council's agenda, China will take the following as priorities in the work of the Security Council, including firmly upholding and practicing multilateralism to support the United Nations in playing a central role.
"It's becoming more evident that the only way to rise above all the challenges is to uphold and practice multilateralism," he said.
In the Declaration on the Commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of the United Nations, heads of state and government emphasized that multilateralism is not an option but a necessity, and the United Nations must be at the center of our efforts, said the ambassador.
"This represents the common voice and aspiration of the international community and points out the direction for the future work of the Security Council," Zhang said.
China will convene a high-level briefing on Friday, with the theme of "Maintenance of international peace and security: Upholding multilateralism and the UN-centered international system".
"The meeting is aimed at galvanizing efforts of all parties to maintain and practice true multilateralism so as to resolve the pressing issues the world is facing and ensure the central role of the United Nations in international affairs and the effective implementation of the leaders' declaration," Zhang said.
Promoting solidarity and cooperation to fight the pandemic and restore development in conflict areas is another priority of the Council for the month of May.
"The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented global crisis. It is having profound impacts on international peace and security. Countries and regions in conflict will suffer a greater impact over the mid and long term, and the root causes to conflicts will be more entrenched," said the Council president.
"Conflicts in Africa account for more than half of the situations on the Security Council agenda and 70 percent of the peace and security situations under Chapter VII of the UN Charter. It is a shared responsibility of the international community to help African countries in conflict tackle the challenge of the pandemic and promote post-conflict reconstruction, peacebuilding and post-pandemic recovery," said the ambassador.
Other priorities of the Security Council in May include abiding by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and promoting political settlement of regional hotspot issues and pushing for enhanced capacity and institution building of the United Nations to better tackle complex challenges.
Talking about the relations between technologies, and peace and security, Zhang said that emerging technologies, while benefiting humankind, "are having deep impacts on international peace and security."
On May 17, China will convene an Arria-formula meeting on the impact of emerging technologies on international peace and security, he said, adding that the meeting will provide an opportunity for the international community "to gain a deeper understanding of emerging technologies, pay more attention to their impacts on international peace and security, and prevent and mitigate potential risks and challenges."
"This will be the first time for the Council to discuss this topic. We hope it will be a good start and look forward to the contribution of all member states," he noted.
Speaking about the 50th anniversary of the restoration of China's lawful seat at the UN, Zhang said that in 1971, the 26th session of the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 2758, restoring all lawful rights of the People's Republic of China at the UN and reaffirming the one-China principle.
Over the past 50 years, abiding by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, China has been a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development and a defender of international order, the ambassador said, adding that as a permanent member of the Security Council, China has made great efforts to seek political settlement of hotspot issues and has been actively engaged in peacekeeping operations and become the largest troop contributor among the permanent members.
"China attaches great importance to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. China has achieved the Sustainable Development Goal on poverty reduction 10 years ahead of schedule, and accounted for more than 70 percent of the global population lifted out of poverty," Zhang said.
China is committed to the promotion and protection of human rights and has made tremendous efforts and achieved major progress in protecting rights and interests of vulnerable groups, including women, children, persons with disabilities and ethnic minorities, making tangible contributions to the global human rights cause, the ambassador said.
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