Chinese envoy calls for joint efforts to protect women, children in conflicts

A Chinese envoy to the United Nations Wednesday called on the international community to make joint efforts to step up protection of women and children in conflicts.

Terrorist organizations such as the Islamic State (IS) and Boko Haram were carrying out criminal activities such as human trafficking, which jeopardized the rights and interests of women and children, said Wang Min, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, at a meeting on trafficking of persons in situations of conflict.

"The International community should have close cooperation and make joint efforts to step up protection of women and children in conflicts," said Wang.

The envoy also noted that "sovereignty of the countries involved should be respected and their role leveraged."

"Countries involved have the primary responsibility to protect women and children in their country and to combat human trafficking," he said.

The international community should, on the basis of respecting sovereignty of the countries involved, provide constructive support and assist countries involved in stepping up capacity-building in counter-terrorism and border control so as to maintain stability and tranquility in the country and the region, he said.

The representative also stressed the need to tackle both the symptom and the root causes of terrorism.

"The international community should intensify cooperation in effectively combating criminal phenomenon, such as human trafficking, in providing comprehensive security guarantee and humanitarian assistance to women and children in conflicts," he said.

It should also vigorously advance political processes, promote international reconciliation and resolve differences through dialogue and consultations so as to eradicate the root causes of armed conflicts, he added.

At the meeting, the Security Council adopted a presidential statement to call on member states to improve their implementation of legal obligations to combat trafficking in persons, while strengthening efforts to disrupt this crime.

In the presidential statement, the 15-nation council noted that trafficking in persons undermines the rule of law and contributes to other forms of transnational organized crime, which can exacerbate conflict and foster insecurity. Endi