UNITED NATIONS, July 27 (Xinhua) -- China's permanent representative to the United Nations, Zhang Jun, on Wednesday called on the international community to respect the sovereignty of post-conflict countries.
"The international community should respect the sovereignty and ownership of post-conflict countries, and provide constructive assistance in line with their will and request," Zhang told the UN Security Council briefing on the Peacebuilding Commission.
"We should stick to the ownership of the countries concerned. The key for post-conflict countries to achieve sustained peace and development lies in their own efforts," he said.
"National conditions vary greatly among post-conflict countries and even evolve within the same country as it goes through different stages. The international community should support the countries concerned in exploring development paths that fit their own national conditions and engage in peacebuilding in a targeted manner, aligned with the priorities of the said countries," Zhang added.
The ambassador underscored the importance of development in post-conflict countries, noting that for the absolute majority of countries in conflict or post-conflict settings, their biggest challenges are developing the economy and improving people's livelihood.
He also called on the United Nations and the international community to help the countries concerned, especially their governments, enhance their capacity for governance, sustainable development, maintenance of common security, as well as their resilience.
Talking about financing for peacebuilding, the envoy said that China supports the provision of adequate and predictable financial support to peacebuilding in multiple ways.
"To this end, we should build up innovative partnerships, and explore diverse funding channels for peacebuilding," he said.
Zhang underscored that China attaches great importance to peacebuilding, and has always actively supported the construction and development of countries in conflict or post-conflict settings through multilateral and bilateral channels.
"We have proposed the Belt and Road Initiative and the Global Development Initiative to inject strong momentum into achieving common development," he said.
"China has made several contributions to the UN Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) along with financial support to many peacebuilding projects through the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund and China-UN Peace and Development Fund," he said. "China will continuously support the cause of peacebuilding with concrete actions and contribute to the achievement of long-lasting peace." ■
