China said on Tuesday that security sector reform should be
conducted in such a way that the will of countries concerned should
be respected.
"In the final analysis, the rebuilding of national institutions
depends on the countries themselves. As they have different
conditions and problems, it is useful to consult them and listen to
their opinions," Cui Tiankai, China's assistant minister of foreign
affairs, told an open debate of the United Nations Security
Council.
"The international community, on its part, should act more as an
advisor and assistance provider aiming at improving their
'blood-building' capacity and helping them find a mechanism and
approach that fit their own conditions, instead of going beyond
given mandates or even acting arbitrarily," Cui added.
He said that security sector reform has become an important part
of peacekeeping and peace building. "The UN's practice in Liberia
and Sierra Leone shows that the efforts to reform the security
sector prove to be effective in restoring peace and promoting
development."
Cui stressed that the reform should aim to ensure the
involvement of the security sectors such as the army and police in
nation building, preservation of stability and promotion of
economic growth.
"Security sector reform should serve the comprehensive strategy
of peacekeeping and peace building," he said. "The reform should
match and complement the efforts for reconciliation, economic
recovery, rule of law and human rights protection and vice
versa."
Cui emphasized the important role of the UN in security sector
reform, complaining of "too many institutions involved in the
reform and too little coordination among them."
"The United Nations, in its unique position, should play the
leading and coordinating role in the reform and mobilize all
resources to increase efficiency," he said.
The UN, founded following the scourges of two world wars, "has
the important responsibility to build a harmonious world of lasting
peace and common prosperity in the 21st century," Cui said.
He said China stands ready to work with others to help
conflicting parties "heal the wounds of conflict, embark on the
road to develop and thus enable them to enjoy the dividends of
peace."
At Tuesday's open debate, UN General-Secretary Ban Ki-moon urged
the world body to draw upon its own resources and experience in
reforming the security sector, underscoring the crucial role that
security plays in successful peace-building and development efforts
in countries emerging from conflict.
"Security sector reform embraces values and principles that
lieat the core of the United Nations," Ban said. "The practical
involvement of the UN in security sector reform has been shaped by
decades of peacekeeping in post-conflict environments."
Ambassador Peter Burian of Slovakia, which holds the Security
Council's revolving presidency this month, said in a statement that
the 15-member body "stresses that reforming the security sector in
post-conflict environments is critical to the consolidation of
peace and stability, promoting poverty reduction, rule of law and
good governance, extending legitimate state authority and
preventing countries from relapsing into conflict."
Besides speakers representing individual member states, heads of
the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and the
Organizational Committee of the Peace building Commission also
spoke at the event.
(Xinhua News Agency February 21, 2007)
