I wish to thank Under-Secretary-General Le Roy for his presence at today’s meeting. I have listened attentively to the statements made by the four Force Commanders of United Nations peacekeeping operations. I wish to express my warm welcome to all the Force Commanders present here at today’s meeting. They are working under extreme difficulties all across the world, implementing the Council’s mandates and making contributions to world peace and security. The Chinese delegation pays tribute to them and to all peacekeepers all across the world.

For over 60 years United Nations peacekeeping operations have been making great contributions to maintaining world peace and security. In recent years, with the changing environment, peacekeeping operations are also faced with a series of new challenges. I do not have questions to raise at this time, but I have listened to the statements of the Force Commanders, and I want to make some comments on principle. I wish to emphasize the following four Points.

First, we must strengthen coordination between peacekeeping and peacemaking. As important as peacekeeping is, it is not a panacea. To establish lasting peace, the key is to promote political dialogue and reconciliation. The Secretary-General and his Special Representatives can play a greater role in this regard in mediation.

Secondly, it is important to strengthen coordination and coherence between peacekeeping and peacebuilding. The parties concerned should pay attention to and tackle the root causes of conflicts, in particular economic and social development. A holistic approach must be taken in considering the relationship between peacekeeping and peacebuilding, and the division of labour between peacekeeping and peacebuilding must be clearly defined. Timely formulation and gradual improvement of an exit strategy are very important.

Thirdly, we must effectively implement the mandate to protect civilians. The host countries must bear primary responsibility for protecting civilians. Peacekeeping operations, while implementing the mandate of protecting civilians, should abide strictly by the Council’s resolutions and follow the principle of impartiality, so as not to become a party to the conflict. At the same time, they should respect the sovereignty of the host country, so as to do more to promote political and national reconciliation.

Fourthly, we must also strengthen the capacity building function of peacekeeping operations. We hope that the countries with the resources and the technical capacity to do so will increase their input so as to provide the necessary resources and technical guarantees for peacekeeping operations. We support United Nations efforts to improve the speed and efficiency of deployment of peacekeeping operations and make them more targeted and flexible and to strengthen coordination and partnership with host countries and regional organizations.