The United Nations Security Council open debate on UN peacekeeping operations is held at the UN headquarters in New York, on Sept. 9, 2024. China's permanent representative to the UN, Fu Cong, on Monday said during the open debate that UN peacekeeping operations should not interfere with the domestic affairs of the countries concerned, and should not get involved as a party to the disputes or conflicts. (Evan Schneider/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua)
UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- UN peacekeeping operations should not interfere with the domestic affairs of the countries concerned, and should not get involved as a party to the disputes or conflicts, a Chinese envoy said on Monday.
At present, the international and regional security situations are undergoing profound changes, and UN peacekeeping operations are at a new crossroads, said Fu Cong, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, in remarks at the UN Security Council open debate on UN peacekeeping operations.
"It is imperative for the Security Council to keep focused on the new situation and challenges, comprehensively review and take stock of lessons learned, and timely calibrate the direction of peacekeeping operations," he said.
Underscoring the importance of the three principles of UN peacekeeping -- consent of the parties, impartiality and non-use of force except in self-defense and defense of the mandate, the ambassador said they "must remain our long-term guiding principles."
Noting that many of the challenges presently facing peacekeeping operations are related to the pivoting away from the principles in terms of mission mandate and its operation, he said it is necessary to reiterate, "first and foremost, the importance of adhering to the three principles of peacekeeping."
Fu pointed out that peacekeeping operations are not "a panacea," and require basic conditions for their deployment and success, including a credible and forward-looking political process. "In other words, there should a peace to keep."
"Expecting peacekeeping operations to be a superman to stem the tide and save the day is unrealistic. Requesting peacekeeping operations to be a backup man with no regard to the specifics of a given situation is even more irresponsible," he warned.
Fu noted that the United Nations has deployed peacekeeping operations in Haiti on several occasions, but none of them has proven effective. "It is clear that Haiti, under the current circumstances, does not have the conditions for the deployment of a UN peacekeeping operation."
He underlined that the multidimensional peacekeeping operation deployed in response to internal conflicts within a country should assist but not replace the host country's own efforts, and the operation's core mandate must reflect the realities on the ground and be consistent with the priorities of the host country, not the political priorities or even political correctness of others.
"The Council should avoid expanding the mission's mandates at each renewal, as this will only lead to inflated mandates that lack focus, thus making the implementation difficult," the ambassador said.
The long-term stay of a mission is not an end in itself, and once the situation in the host country has stabilized, the Security Council should promptly formulate a clear and actionable exit strategy for the mission, so as to ensure a smooth and orderly transition of the relevant tasks to the government of the host country and other UN agencies, he said.
Fu stressed the need for the performance of peacekeeping operations to be comprehensively improved, including the individual peacekeeper's personal competence and performance, and the overall quality and effectiveness of the work of the mission as a whole.
He suggested that the peacekeeping operation maintain good cooperation with the host country, mission leaders demonstrate leadership and ensure high morale and discipline among all mission personnel, and the UN system as a whole improve its emergency response mechanism to minimize casualties.
Considering that peacekeeping assessments account for two-thirds of the total budget of the world body, the ambassador also suggested strongest financial discipline in all aspects of peacekeeping operations, from decision-making to implementation, and called for broadening supplier channels for peacekeeping material procurement, so as to effectively improve cost effectiveness. ■
