China called on the international community to firmly uphold the United Nations Charter and oppose unilateralism, a Chinese envoy to the UN said at a meeting on Friday.
Sun Lei, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, emphasized the importance of upholding the UN role in his speech at a meeting of the Sixth Committee of the UN General Assembly on Report of the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization.
"The UN Charter is the solid foundation of contemporary international law, holds the supreme authority within the international legal system and serves as the fundamental guideline for international relations. At present, the international situation is marked by a complex interplay of changes and turmoil. It is more urgent and necessary than ever to uphold the international system with the UN at its core and the international order based on international law and to ensure that the purposes and principles of the UN Charter are observed and implemented," he said.
"This year marks the 80th anniversary of the opening of the Tokyo Trials. All parties should learn from history and jointly safeguard the hard-won fruits of peace and the postwar order," he noted.
Stressing that genuine multilateralism should be practiced, Sun said all countries are equal, regardless of size, strength, or wealth, and that international affairs should be handled through collective consultation and the fate of the world should be jointly determined by all nations.
Major powers, in particular, must take the lead in abiding by the UN Charter and unequivocally oppose unilateralism, he stated, saying China opposes unilateral sanctions not authorized by the UN Security Council.
He reaffirmed that the UN Security Council sanctions should aim to promote a political settlement of the relevant issues, be guided by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, be premised on the exhaustion of other peaceful means, and minimize the impact on ordinary people and third countries to the greatest extent possible.
The peaceful settlement of international disputes is one of the fundamental principles of the UN Charter, and China has consistently advocated that the parties to a dispute resolve their differences through dialog and consultation, and maintains that international judicial bodies should resolve disputes objectively and impartially based on the consent of the parties involved, without arbitrarily expanding their jurisdiction, said the Chinese envoy.
He said as a responsible major country, China has upheld an objective and impartial stance on issues such as the Ukraine crisis and the Palestine-Israel conflict, actively engaged in diplomatic efforts and played a constructive role. China, together with like-minded countries, initiated the establishment of the International Organization for Mediation, which fills a gap in the mechanisms for international peace mediation and contributed an important public good to the peaceful resolution of disputes.
"China has always supported the UN in playing a central role in international affairs. As the first country to sign the UN Charter and a permanent member of the Security Council, China will continue to fulfill its solemn commitment to the UN Charter through concrete actions and, together with countries around the world, work tirelessly to maintain world peace, advance global development, promote mutual learning among civilizations and strengthen global governance," said Sun.
China urges int'l community to firmly uphold UN charter: envoy
