China backs enhanced UN peacekeeping

China renewed its commitment to United Nations' peacekeeping and urged the international community to support the latter's efforts at a UN police summit on Thursday.

"We shall invest more in capacity-building. We shall actively host UN workshops, develop mobile training teams in partnership with the UN and give priority to the training programs in Africa, to meet the target of training 1,000 peacekeeping police officers to high-quality standards," said Wang Xiaohong, executive vice-minister of public security, in his speech at the Second UN Chiefs of Police Summit (UNCOPS) at UN headquarters in New York.

In line with commitments made by President Xi Jinping at the UN Peacekeeping Summit in September 2015, China has completed the establishment and training of two standby formed police units (FPUs) with 330 officers, and has trained more than 400 peacekeeping police officers from other countries.

In addition to helping African countries improve their law enforcement capabilities within the UN framework, Wang said China will provide the UN with more human resources support. "We shall continue to supply senior personnel and junior professionals and train up and supply female officers to peacekeeping missions," he said.

More than 11,000 officers from 89 countries currently serve as part of 16 UN operations worldwide, with 10 percent of them being women, according to Jean-Pierre Lacroix, head of the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations.

Since 2000, 2,629 Chinese police officers have participated in nine peacekeeping mandate areas from Haiti to Liberia. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China has sent the most number of police officers and is the second largest fund contributor.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres tweeted that he was "deeply impressed" by the China Peacekeeping Police Training Center in Langfang, Hebei province when he visited it in April.

Wang said China is ready to fund the next UNCOPS and will help create a mechanism to implement the consensus outcomes of the summit for the benefit of global security governance.

"We are happy to share with other countries on how to keep a record of zero discipline violation so that together we can safeguard the reputation of UN peacekeeping operations," he said.

In his speech, Wang made three proposals: supporting the UN in playing a bigger role in peacekeeping and peace-building and supporting Guterres' efforts to reform the UN peace and security architecture; strengthening the capacity of host countries for securing mission areas; and comprehensively elevating the capabilities of peacekeeping police.

Wang's speech was well received among UN officials and representatives of member states.

Luis Carrilho, UN Police adviser in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, said in an interview with Chinese media that China's commitment to peace and security worldwide is "very well taken" by the UN police division.

"China committed to continue to support even more UN police. It's a good message in terms of discipline. And especially its commitment to help further training either directly or to other member states that are in need for deployment is a very positive step," Carrilho said.

"I'm very happy that China committed to continue to support peacekeeping and committed with even more police officers, more female police officers, because the police of the UN are composed of 89 different member states, more than 11,000 police officers," he said. "For better service for communities, the member states need to provide good police officers, skilled police officers, so we can make a safer world with our support."

Muhammad Saddique Sheikh, additional secretary of Pakistan's Ministry of Interior, said China is the emerging leader of the world and China's role in the UN at all levels is "commendable".

"The whole world, especially Pakistan, appreciates the efforts of China for the peacekeeping of the world," he said.

There's a gap as far as world peacekeeping is concerned, Sheikh said, as the UN is shrinking some of the peacekeeping missions of the world.

"That's where China has to come in and fill the gap," he said. "Your presentation is excellent. I think we need to transform this into actions."

Sheikh said Pakistan appreciates China's initiative to train UN peacekeeping missions. Pakistan is going to put in about 6,000 personnel in the UN peacekeeping mission and would cooperate with China in the training of peacekeepers.

The two-day summit aims to build the relationship between UN and national policing efforts and strengthen the overall response to transnational threats to peace and security, among other objectives.