August 21, 2024
President,
I thank Sierra Leone for the initiative of organizing this signature event on the theme of conflict prevention. I thank Foreign Minister Musa Timothy Kabba for presiding over this meeting. I thank Assistant Secretary-General Elizabeth Spehar, Commissioner Bankole Adeoye, and the briefer from the civil society for their briefing.
The international situation is now undergoing profound and complex evolution. Some regions are facing intensifying turmoil with a serious spillover effect, which underscores even more the importance of conflict prevention. We need to enhance the effectiveness and relevance of conflict prevention and address both the symptoms and underlying issues, in particular by tackling the root causes of conflict, and strive to translate the international community’s shared vision for peace into effective actions to realize lasting peace, I would like to make the following points.
First, development should be prioritized. Poverty and under-development are major sources of conflict. Conflict prevention must take up as a foundational task poverty reduction and development. It is important for post-conflict countries and countries in special situations alike to leverage their resource endowment and comparative advantages to tap the momentum and potential for sustainable economic development, so as to embark on the fast track to development. To maintain stable economic growth and keep creating jobs and wealth constitute the very foundation for realizing long-term national peace and security.
Second, government should take the lead. Effective governance is indispensable for a country to maintain long-term stability and achieve sustainable economic and social development. As countries differ in their national conditions, it is important that they should independently explore a development path that suits their own conditions, improve their governance systems, and enhance their governance capacity. The government should play its role in making up for the shortcomings of market mechanism, investing more in infrastructure, education, health, among others, to enhance people’s sense of benefit, hereby solidifying public buy-in of government policies and actions.
Third, social inclusion should be promoted. Only through inclusive development, can we build the foundation of lasting peace. It is important to ensure that the well being and the interests of all people are taken into account as a starting point for the purpose of rational allocation of social resources and enhancing access to public services, so that all ethnicities and social groupings can equally participate in and benefit from development, while the special needs of vulnerable groups and regions with development difficulties are properly addressed. We must see to it that the human rights of women, youth, and other groups are safeguarded in the context of development, with the right to life and right to development being put front and center in our work, while other human rights being promoted and safeguarded in a balanced manner.
President,
Effective conflict prevention requires favorable external conditions. The United Nations should ensure that it plays its role in conflict prevention and increase its input in the area of development. The UN peacekeeping operations and special political missions should pay attention to the needs of the countries concerned and do more practical work conducive to promoting their economic growth and sustainable development. Regional and subregional organizations should work to enhance political trust among countries in the region and promote regional cooperation. We should build an open and non-discriminatory international economic and trade environment, so that more developing countries can participate fairly in economic, scientific, and technological cooperation and share the dividends of development. Meanwhile, efforts should be made to promote the reform of the international financial architecture, so that it can better meet the needs of developing countries in such areas as financing for development, climate change, and capacity building. We should uphold international justice, oppose interference in the internal affairs of other countries, and oppose unilateralism and hegemony. Here, I wish to emphasize that the indiscriminate imposition of illegal unilateral sanctions by some countries in violation of the UN Charter and international law not only exacerbate the economic and social difficulties of the countries targeted, but also sow the seeds for new conflicts and instability. We urge these countries to immediately lift all unilateral sanctions.
President,
As a permanent member of the Security Council and an important member of the Global South, China, along with realizing its own development, has always taken as its responsibility to support the Global South in achieving lasting peace and sustainable development. In 2015 President Xi Jinping announced the establishment of the China-United Nations Peace and Development Trust Fund, which has so far carried out about 150 projects, providing important support for the UN in promoting the sustainable development agenda and maintaining international peace and security. Juncao Technology is one of the priority projects carried out under the Trust Fund. Based on the widely adaptative herbaceous plant, this technology helps farmers rapidly invest in higher value-added industries such as mushrooms and animal husbandry. So far, this technology has been promoted and adopted in 107 countries around the globe,bringing hope for tackling problems of poverty, food security, and employment.
The inventor of Juncao Technology, Professor Lin Zhanxi, who is 82 years old this year, has been engaged in research for more than 50 years and can still be seen traveling around the world to personally engage in research and development and promotion. Two weeks ago, I traveled together with senior UN secretariat officials and Professor Lin to Rwanda and Tanzania. In the Muhanga district in the southern province of Rwanda, I met a young man named Nyambo, who transformed his life using the Juncao Technology. Unable to find a job after college, Nyambo came across a training course on Juncao Technology organized by the China-UN Peace and Development Trust Fund. In just five years, Nyambo went from being an unemployed young man to a farmer who now employs about 30 people and produces a wide range of products, including food, animal feed, and fertilizer. He proudly told me, I quote, Juncao Technology has not only changed my life, but has also made me a champion in my village to help others out of poverty. Thanks to it, I am now able to take care of dozens of families’ livelihood on my own.
A string of fungus or a blade of grass, though tiny and small, is loaded with significance. It symbolizes the successful practices explored by the Chinese people in the course of poverty reduction and eradication, and epitomizes China’s practical actions to support the realization of sustainable development in the Global South. China is ready to work with the international community to help more developing countries realize independent development, usher in the dawn of peace in more regions, and continue to build the foundation of global peace and stability.
Thank you, President.