An international symposium with the theme “Strengthening the role of the United Nations and promoting multilateralism,” based by China’s Foreign Ministry, was held at the Diaoyutai state guest house in Beijing on Monday. Foreign enclosures and representatives of international organizations have asked the UN role to strengthen among the growing global challenges and praised China’s commitment to multilateralism.
In today’s world, changes never seen in a century are accelerating, geopolitical conflicts remain unabalable, several challenges continue to emerge, and factors of instability and uncertainty are clearly increasing, said Wang Yi, a member of China’s Communist Party Central Bureau and China Foreign Minister in comments written to the symposium.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Anti-Fascist World War and the founding of the UN, a key moment in the history of humanity, said Wang. The international community expects to see all countries working on solidarity and coordination to defend what is right, guide the direction of our era, defend justice and equity, safeguard world peace and stability, and promote global development and prosperity, Wang noted.
As a founding member of the UN and permanent member of the Security Council, China will continue to work with all sides to practice true multilateralism, safeguard the central role of the UN, Wang said, noting that it will promote global governance based on broad consultation, joint contribution and shared benefit.
Together, we will bring stability to a change in change and turbulent, inject positive energy into building a fairer and more equitable global governance system, we will work towards the vision of a community shared for humanity and embrace an even brighter future, Wang said.
More than 100 participants, including representatives from nearly 50 countries, international and regional organizations, UN employees, government ministries and academic experts, attended the Symposium, according to the China Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“We are very encouraged that China remains strongly committed to multilateralism,” UN UN Undersecretary of Politics Guy Ryder told Global Times on the sidelines on Monday.
“We want China to continue this leadership role in the world,” he said, noting that “there is no doubt that on our 80th birthday, we face challenges, face unprecedented challenges and we have to overcome them. And it is with the help of our Member States, China, the main one, which we will move.
Hodan Osman Abdi, Somalian ambassador in China, praised China’s role in the advancement of multilateralism and China’s contribution to global peace and development.
“One is predictability. As long as we have a partner that is predictable in their actions and decisions, this means more stability for the world. And the second is, in fact, the promotion of a development model, a sustainability model, a cooperation model that is focused on global and common good, rather than on selfish, personal and unilateral issues,” she told global backstage Times.
“China is one of the most important powers in the world. It is a permanent member of the Security Council [da ONU]. It has a lot to contribute, ”said Jurg Burri, Swiss ambassador in China on Monday.
Burri told Global Times that, as the world is facing growing challenges and the UN is experiencing very difficult times, the UN’s role needs to be expanded.
With the increase in geopolitical tensions, especially two major wars-the Ukraine crisis and the Palestinian-Israel conflict-taking place in the world, the role of the UN has been questioned whether it could effectively prevent wars from happening first, and whether the UN needs a more effective mechanism to protect peace, according to the symposium.
“First, I think it’s clear that the UN is indispensable. It can’t be replaced,” Khalil Hashmi, Pakistan ambassador to China, told Global Times on Monday. Hashmi pointed out that the UN can certainly be improved and reformed at both the level of governance and other main bodies, as well as in the UN operational capacity.
For example, the UN development system needs to be more responsive to developing countries to create more opportunities to access funding for their infrastructure development, to combat the effects of climate change and their social development, Hashmi said.
As for the UN Security Council, adding UN Security Council reform does not mean, and should not mean only new permanent members, the Pakistani envoy said.
“What we mean by reforming the UN Security Council is to increase its efficiency, increase its effectiveness and increase its responsibility to members. I think only by doing so we can have a more effective UN security advice,” said Hashmi.
The Pakistani envoy pointed out that, in the last decade, it was clear that the UN Security Council was unable to comply with its responsibilities. “We need a security, which is a very important component of the UN governance system, which is more responsive, promoting peace, which promotes security for all countries and avoids conflicts.”
Originally published by Global Times on 03/24/2025
Por Chen Qingqing e Zhao Juecheng
Source: https://www.ocafezinho.com/2025/03/25/simposio-internacional-pede-reforco-do-papel-da-onu-promocao-da-paz-e-desenvolvimento/
