Chinese envoy calls for int'l cooperation to meet global humanitarian needs

A Chinese envoy to the United Nations Thursday called for international cooperation to address global humanitarian challenges both from symptoms and root causes.

"The year 2015 has witnessed frequent natural disasters and the intertwined conventional and non-conventional security threats such as armed conflicts, terrorism and violent extremism," Wang Min, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, told a UN General Assembly meeting, adding that these constitute "enormous challenges" to the global humanitarian response in terms of resources and capacity.

Wang pointed out that it is imperative that the international community strengthens cooperation and "responds to these challenges with effective strategies and measures that address both the symptoms and root causes".

The envoy stressed that the international humanitarian relief efforts must be conducted in accordance with the UN Charter and the basic principles governing humanitarian assistance established in relevant GA resolution.

"The fundamental way to address the global humanitarian crisis lies in the pursuit of peace and realization of common development, "said the Chinese envoy. He noted that the international community should grasp the adoption of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda to scale up support for developing countries.

In September during his attendance at the summits of the 70th session of the UN, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced a series of important initiatives, including the establishment of China-UN Peace and Development Fund and the establishment of the South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund, which has fully demonstrated China's willingness to work with others and actively contribute to the achievement of common development and the maintenance of peace and stability.

Wang also called on the international community to help developing countries enhance their risk management capability, building up all-round capacity in disaster prevention, preparedness, reduction and response, and strengthening resilience.

"China calls on donors to further intensify efforts and provide more funding on flexible terms" in response to UN's humanitarian appeals, Wang said, noting the World Humanitarian Summit to be held next May will be "an important opportunity" for countries to exchange assistance experience and discuss our future direction in this field. Enditem