Mr. Chairman,

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the signing of the Charter of the United Nations and the founding of our Organization. Under the regulation and guidance of the UN and its Charter, the world has maintained overall peace for seven decades, countries throughout the world have enjoyed steady economic and social development, a number of conflicts have been settled peacefully, and the democratization of and the rule of law in international relations have gained increasing acceptance. In order to mark the role and contribution of the UN and its Charter, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, while hosting the 54th annual session of the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization (AALCO) last April, co-hosted with the Chinese Society of international Law an international colloquium entitled “The Charter of the United Nations and the Post-War International Order -- in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the victory of the world anti-fascism war and the founding of the United Nations ”. More than 200 participants from over 40 countries from Asia, Africa and Latin America as well as international organizations, including the United Nations, engaged in in-depth discussion over a series of important issues surrounding the Charter and the post-war international order, and jointly demonstrated their commitment to and confidence in upholding the Charter’s authority, promoting the international rule of law and pushing for win-win cooperation.

This year is also the 40th anniversary of the Special Committee. As the only permanent meeting mechanism within the UN framework to discuss issues related to the UN Charter and the strengthening of the role of the Organization, the Special Committee has over the past four decades done significant work and played an irreplaceable role in upholding the authority of the UN Charter, maintaining international peace and security, and promoting peaceful settlement of international disputes. The Chinese delegation wishes to express its appreciation for and acknowledgment of the efforts of the Special Committee.

Mr. Chairman,

The Special Committee continued its deliberation on the item of “assistance to the third states affected by the application of sanctions” at its 2015 annual session. The Chinese delegation would like to reaffirm that the Security Council should adopt a cautious and responsible approach on the question of imposing sanctions and use sanctions as the last resort after all other peaceful means have been exhausted; when sanctions are truly considered necessary, the UN Charter and other relevant principles of the international law must be complied with, and negative impact on civilians and third states minimized.

On the improvement of the working methods and efficiency of the Special Committee, the Chinese delegation hopes that all parties will engage in consultations in a pragmatic spirit, and explore new ideas and ways for addressing this issue. The Chinese delegation supports the deliberation by the Special Committee of relevant and feasible new agenda items. It reaffirms at the same time that the Committee’s work must be based on GA mandate and that any new item must be within the Committee’s purview as mandated by the GA resolutions.

The Chinese delegation is delighted to note the progress made in compiling the Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs and updating the Repertoire of the Practice of the Security Council. We appreciate efforts made by the Secretariat in this regard and hope that the Secretariat will further implement relevant requests contained in the Committee’s report.

The Chinese delegation has noted that the Non-Alignment Movement will submit a revised proposal entitled “Pacific settlement of disputes and its impact on the maintenance of peace” to the 2016 annual session. Along with other delegations, the Chinese delegation is eager to hear detailed introduction of the proposal at the next session so as to participate in its in-depth consideration.

Mr. Chairman,

70 years ago, the United Nations and its Charter were created as an embodiment of mankind’s vision for a better future. Today, 70 years later, the values and norms established by the Charter remain valid, the international order and system with the United Nations as the core must be safeguarded, and the work of the Special Committee therefore continues to be highly relevant. The Chinese delegation will maintain its support for the Special Committee in carrying out its work according to the GA mandate, and for member states in using the platform provided by the Special Committee to push for more effective compliance with and implementation of the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and for an even stronger role of the UN.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.