Mr. Chairman,

The Chinese delegation thanks Mr. Ruslan Varankov, Chairman of the Special Committee, for his presentation of the Committee’s work at its 2017 annual session.

The Special Committee is the only permanent meeting mechanism within the UN framework to discuss issues related to the Charter of the United Nations and the strengthening of the role of the Organization. China has always attached importance to the positive role of the Committee and supported the Committee in carrying out its work within its purview as mandated by the General Assembly.

Mr. Chairman,

“Pacific settlement of disputes and its impact on the maintenance of peace” is an important proposal considered by the Committee under the item “peaceful settlement of disputes”. China consistently advocates peaceful settlement of disputes, and is of the view that international disputes should be properly settled through negotiation, dialogue and consultation between the parties. At the same time, we maintain that the legitimate right of all countries to choose freely peaceful means of dispute settlement must be fully respected, and that the principle of States’ consent must be strictly complied with. The Chinese delegation has noted that at the Special Committee’s 2017 annual session, it was agreed that a thematic debate will be held every year under this agenda item to discuss peaceful means of dispute settlement provided for in Chapter VI of the UN Charter, in particular Article 33. We express our appreciation to all delegations for advancing the Special Committee’s consideration of this agenda item in a constructive spirit and by consensus, and remain committed to actively participating in the Committee’s discussion of this subject.

Concerning the issue of “the introduction and implementation of sanctions imposed by the United Nations”, China has always maintained that the Security Council should exercise prudence in imposing sanctions. Specifically, sanctions should be the last resort after all non-coercive means have been exhausted, and should be in line with the UN Charter and other relevant rules of international law. The consequences of sanctions should be evaluated carefully and any negative impact on ordinary people and third states minimized. In our view, the Security Council’s resolutions on sanctions must be strictly complied with and implemented. China opposes the imposition of additional unilateral sanctions that are inconsistent with the UN Charter, as such measures undermine the effectiveness and authority of the UN sanctions.

China welcomes the continued consideration by the Special Committee of the working paper submitted by Ghana on “strengthening of the relationship and cooperation between the United Nations and regional arrangements or agencies in the peaceful settlement of disputes”, and believes that the discussions on this topic will contribute to strengthening the coordination of this Organization with regional arrangements or agencies in our collective efforts to maintain international peace and security. In our opinion, regional arrangements and agencies, in their cooperation with the UN, must abide by the relevant provisions of the Charter, including respecting the primary responsibility of the Security Council for the maintenance of international peace and security and reporting fully to the Council on actions that they consider to take for that purpose.

China recognizes that the Special Committee can play a greater role by improving its working methods and efficiency. We also hope that all parties will continue to engage in consultations in a pragmatic spirit to explore new ideas and ways to improve the Committee’s working methods in order for the Committee to perform its functions more effectively.

My delegation appreciates the progress made by the Secretariat in compiling the Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs and updating the Repertoire of the Practice of the Security Council. We hope that the Secretariat will continue to push for the simultaneous publication of the Repertory and the Repertoire in all official languages of the United Nations.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.