China: UN presidency will be 'fair, open, transparent'

Liu Jieyi, China's permanent representative to the United Nations.

China will be the president of the United Nations Security Council for February and the country intends to conduct its presidency in an "impartial, fair, open and transparent" manner, according to Liu Jieyi, China's permanent representative to the United Nations.

"We know that the president of the Security Council entails enormous responsibilities. The council is entrusted with enormous responsibilities and also according to the charter of the United Nations, the council works on behalf of the entire membership of the United Nations," Liu said on Tuesday at a press briefing at the UN in New York.

"So China intends to conduct its presidency in an impartial, fair, open and transparent way. We will work together with the council members to inject greater efficiency into the work of the council and also to take a result-oriented approach."

The Security Council rotates its presiding officer position every month. Liu said that this month, the body will hold about 20 meetings in and outside of the Security Council, reviewing about 20 items, which include discussions on Africa, the Middle East, Kosovo and Syria. The council also will hold consultations to discuss the elimination of Syrian chemical weapons and chemical facilities, as well as the Syrian political process.

On Feb 23, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will preside over the open debate in the council on maintaining international peace and security, Liu said.

"It is also an occasion to commit ourselves to peace and security in the world, to promoting international fairness, and also to foster a new model of international relations based on cooperation and win-win," Liu said. "We need to make sure that the charter principles and purposes are upheld. Such important principles include sovereign equality, non-interference in internal affairs, equal participation in international affairs and people in those countries in question."

He said that the debate will create discussion on how best for the United Nations to achieve peaceful settlement of disputes through the involvement of peaceful organizations and countries involved.

He added that it will also be an occasion for countries to foster "international democracy and the rule of law. This means that all member states should uphold the authority of international law and exercise their rights in accordance to international law, and all countries should participate equally in the making of international laws relating to peace and security".

This year is the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations as well as the 70th anniversary of the victory over fascism, and China sees the open debates in February in the Security Council as an event leading up to commemorative events taking place in December.

This is the time for the UN to address challenges that countries face, new challenges on the horizon, and new manifestations of existing challenges that the international community faces, Liu said.

"It is an important occasion for members of the council and outside council to take a collective look at how to reaffirm their commitment to chartered principles and also how to make the security council function better in the area of maintaining peace and security and to jointly charter the course forward in this very important aspect of the world of the United Nations," he said.

amyhe@chinadailyusa.com