China recaps role at helm of UN Security Council

With the dispute over Jerusalem evolving in a more stable direction following the United Nations Security Council open debate, it’s still important for the council to monitor the situation, China’s senior envoy said on Monday.

Liu Jieyi, China’s ambassador to the UN and president of the UN Security Council for July, made the remarks at a press conference reviewing China’s July presidency at UN headquarters in New York.

In July, the Security Council met 30 times, adopted four resolutions, four presidential statements and issued press elements seven times, according to Liu.

The open debate about Palestine issue was one of the three highlights Liu mentioned for China’s July presidency.

An outbreak of clashes in Jerusalem was recently heightened over the construction of electronic gates at the entrances to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem.

“What the Chinese presidency did to respond to requests of members of Security Council and outside of the council was to organize an informal consultation on the issue to work on various sides to de-escalate the tension and create conditions for dialogue so that stability will prevail in the city,” Liu said.

Liu introduced President Xi Jinping’s new four-point proposal on promoting the settlement of the Palestinian question in Xi’s recent talks with President Mahmoud Abbas of Palestine.

They include firmly advancing a political settlement based on a two-state solution; uphold the concept of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security; further coordinating efforts of the international community and strengthening synergy for peace; and taking an integrated approach to promote peace through development.

“China plans to hold a seminar for peace activists in Palestine and Israel within this year to contribute wisdom to the settlement of the Palestinian question,” Liu said.

The other open debate was on enhancing African capacities in the area of peace and security on July 18. More than 60 countries and international organizations attended the debate.

Ideas put forward by participants on what the UN can do to help Africa enhance such capacities include establishing consultation between the UN and African Union (AU), and to study the financing of the peacekeeping capacity of Africa.

Liu said Egypt and Ethiopia, which would hold the August and September presidencies respectively, will also hold debates on Africa issues.

“We hope this will generate momentum in the UN in helping Africa and also the ideas that transpired from the debate and the events in August and September will be translated into practical measures to help Africa to enhance capacities in peace and security,” he said.

The council also reviewed issues related to Libya, Cyprus, Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Lebanon, Iraq and South Sudan.

China sees the Security Council as the core organization for the maintenance of peace and stability in the world, Liu said, describing the council as a highly important platform for global governance on security issues.

“As president of the Security Council, we have approached issues dealt with by the council from the perspective of building the right global governance (and) promoting a security outlook that’s common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable,” he said.