Int'l humanitarian assistance must abide by UN Charter: Chinese envoy

International humanitarian assistance must abide by the UN Charter and the principle of neutrality and impartiality, said a Chinese envoy on Thursday.

Wu Haitao, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, made the remarks at a General Assembly meeting on the topic of strengthening coordination of humanitarian and disaster relief assistance of the United Nations.

Wu said respect for international law and norms governing international relations constitute the basic premise for effective humanitarian assistance.

International humanitarian assistance should also respect the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and national unity of recipient countries and comply with international law and the law of host countries, he added.

"The international community must persist in using political means to seek peaceful solutions to disputes, avoid politicizing humanitarian issues, and uphold the non-military nature of humanitarian assistance," the Chinese envoy suggested.

Wu noted that helping developing countries to realize development is the fundamental way to reduce the need for humanitarian relief.

In this regard, he called on developed countries to increase support in terms of capital, technology and capacity building to African countries and the least developed countries.

He also called for efficient operation of the UN humanitarian system to guarantee effective delivery of humanitarian assistance.

"China attaches great importance to and takes an active part in international humanitarian relief work, and has in recent years provided emergency humanitarian assistance to dozens of countries," said Wu.

"We will continue to actively participate in bilateral and multilateral humanitarian actions within the limit of our capabilities and contribute further to the international humanitarian cause," he said. Endi