13 November 2009

Mr. President,

Over the past year, the Security Council has deliberated on a host of issues concerning international peace and security. It has made tireless efforts to facilitate settlement of regional hotspot issues, promote regional stability and assist post-conflict countries in peace building endeavors, and has achieved many good results. While fulfilling its obligations, the Security Council has also endeavored to improve its working methods and increase transparency of its operation. It has enhanced exchanges with other relevant parties.

The Charter of the United Nations entrusts the sacred responsibility of maintaining international peace and security to the Security Council．Given the complicated international circumstances, various security challenges and the expectations of Member States, the Security Council is now shouldering a great responsibility.

The Security Council needs to input more energy into addressing the major, pressing issues that threaten international peace and security, pursuant to its responsibilities entrusted by the Charter of the United Nations. It should refrain from discussing issues that in essence belong to the internal affairs of a country and pose no threat to international peace and security. The Council should also avoid deliberations on issues that in essence do not fall within the scope of its responsibilities, so as not to affect the efforts of other UN organs and agencies to perform their normal functions.

The Security Council needs to tap its full potential to strengthen its capacity for peacemaking, peacekeeping and peace building, and work more aggressively for peaceful settlement of disputes.

The Security Council needs to strengthen its dialogue and cooperation with other UN organs and agencies as well as regional and sub-regional organizations. The Security Council should put greater emphasis on the role of regional and sub-regional organizations in maintaining international peace and security, encourage and support their mediation and good offices endeavors, and establish effective information sharing mechanisms with these organizations.

The Security Council needs to vigorously promote reform of UN peacekeeping operations. UN peacekeeping operations are now faced with new circumstances and challenges. As the decision making body that authorizes deployment of peacekeeping operations, the Security Council should improve its working methods and decision making mechanism, and facilitate the peacekeeping operations to carry out their missions more effectively.

(UN Photo)

Mr. President,

China firmly supports necessary and reasonable reform of the Security Council．One of the core objectives of Security Council reform is to increase the representation of the Council, thus making its composition reflects the tremendous changes that have taken place in the number and structure of UN membership．The reform should give top priority to increasing the representation of developing countries, those in Africa in particular. It must reflect the trend of democratization in international relations, and give medium-sized and small countries greater access to the decision making process of the Security Council．

The five clusters of issues involving Security Council reform are inter-related, and therefore should not be addressed in a "step-by-step" or "piecemeal" approach. Only an integrated approach and a package solution can accommodate the interests and concerns of Member States on different issues.

Security Council reform is a complicated and delicate engineering project, involving the interests of 192 Member States. To achieve the objectives of the reform, there should not only be the resolve to strive for progress, but also a flexible and pragmatic approach that accommodates the interests of all parties and stresses democratic consultation. Only in this way can a solution be found that bridges the differences of all parties, and serves the common and long-term interests of all Member States. And only in this way can the outcome of the reform be sustainable and full of vigor and vitality.

Mr. President,

The 63rd session of the General Assembly launched the intergovernmental negotiations on Security Council reform．During the negotiations, parties had a candid exchange of views on the five clusters of issues of Security Council reform. China appreciates the overall approach adopted by Mr. Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, President of the last session of the General Assembly, and Ambassador Zahir Tanin, Chair of the intergovernmental negotiations, in handling the issue of Security Council reform. We hope this session of the General Assembly will continue to adhere to the principles of ensuring the ownership of Member States, fully accommodating the concerns of all parties and striving for widest possible consensus.

Thank you, Mr. President.