Before the last GA session we talked to permanent representatives to the United Nations of Sweden, South Africa and China. They described their expectations and explained their support to draft resolutions.
Luka Kavčič
Showing posts with label China. Show all posts
Showing posts with label China. Show all posts
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Violence in China - The Chinese Delegate comments:
In the clashes in Xinjiang, an ethnically divided western region of China, 21 people were killed today. Among them were 15 police officers and social workers, ten of them Uighurs, an ethnic minority living in the province of Xinjiang, three Han Chinese, and two Mongolians. It was also said that two other Uighurs were injured. The ethnicity of the assailants was not given. Local official states that the violence began on Tuesday, when three local officials repotted that a group of suspects, armed with knives, is hiding in a house in the village Selibuya.
However, for a long time the region has been a focal point of ethnic and racial tensions. The death toll in this region was the highest in July 2009 between Uighurs and Han Chinese, where nearly 200 people were killed in Xinjiang's capital, Urumqi. In January 2012, two Uighurs who sought asylum in Cambodia after the ethnic clashes in 2009 were sent to serve life sentence by the Chinese authorities.
As the incidents highlight the chaotic nature of the violence in Xinjiang, we asked the representative of China to explain how does China intend to solve/manage ethnic tensions in this region, since he said at the GA opening session that China is capable to solve inter-ethnic issues on its own?
"Firstly, the government of the People's Republic of China would like to emphasize that this violence is not primarily about inter-ethnic issues. Unfortunately a small militant group of thugs is trying to provoke extremism, separatism and terrorism and present it as an inter-ethnic issue.
China is able and is in fact resolving its inter-ethnic issues on its own. Let us remind the international community of our comprehensive approach to ethnic minorities, which enjoy even more rights than the majority population i.e. they are treated preferentially. Uygur in Xinjiang enjoy autonomy, Xinjiang Autonomous Region was established already in 1955. Government respects their language; when imporant meetings on the national level are held, all the documents are availible in Uygur and languages of other minority communities. Uygur culture is respected very much. In the region there are even 35 hospitals of Uygur medicine. Furthermore, the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China prohibits discrimination against or oppression of any nationality and acts which undermine the unity of the nationalities."
Xinjiang is home to thirteen major ethnic groups. Uighurs are the largest among these groups, with more than eight million people, or 45 percent of the region's population. They are predominantly Muslim, with cultural ties stretching to Central Asia. Many of them complain about the restrictions imposed by Beijing on cultural and religious life and feel that they have been marginalized by policies favoring Han migrants. China's presence in the region is believed by some to be a form of Imperialism. Movements for independence have been active since the nineties, with separatist groups like the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) appearing after the large inflow of Han Chinese into the region. Xinjiang shares a border with Mongolia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and the Tibet Autonomous Region. China claims much of the violence is orchestrated by Uighur activists based in the West or in Pakistan and other neighboring countries, but has provided little evidence publicly. In a 2008 report, Amnesty International accused Chinese officials of using the war on terror to justify "harsh repression of ethnic Uighurs.
The representative of China commented to the above arguments:
"China is home to 56 ethnic groups, which can fully enjoy their rights and they are all part of the same family. Among others, freedom of belief of ethnic minorities is respected and guaranteed.
However, Western reckless attitude towards other nations, especially its negative role in Afghanistan has provoked that terrorism, separatism and extremism had some effect on our country as well. Because of that, it is even more important to solve these tensions on a national and local level.
Stability is vitally important in a country of 1.3 billion people. Without stabile political environment China would not have been as successful as it is. For this reason it is vitally important to ensure stability and prevent terrorist activities. Fifteen police officers were killed, while attending their duties. This is violence, which every singe country has a right and a duty to suppress. It is injust to caracterize the same acts in one country as acts of terrorism and in another country as inter-ethnic issues."
Xinjiang borders Central Asia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Because of the Uighur's cultural ties to its neighbors, therefore I was wondering how much is China worried that Central Asian states may support separatist movement in Xinjiang and what would be your reaction in case the latter happens?
The delegate of China stated:
"People's Republic of China is maintaining strong ties with its neighbour countries, which respect the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity. For example, even thoguh the violence in Afghanistan is still ongoing, we have deepened cooperation and help to this country. In fact, China is the biggest investor in Afghanistan.
Some responses in international community prove again that it is utterly important that this issue stays in our own hands. Nobody should abuse this unfortunate outburst of violence for politization. After all, after the sad event at the Boston marathon, nobody accused USA of being repressive toward Muslim minority. It was a terrorist act and it was addressed like that. We would be grateful if the international community used the same measures in China."
Sources:
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Fatal clash in China's Xinjiang region
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Dialogue Platform Academy - Birth of new international forum
This year's focus was twofold - sustainable development and
demographics, both independently and as a joint issue. The platform proved to
be an excellent opportunity for discussions, exchange of good practices, open
critique and an incubator for future solutions.
The DIPLACAD meeting took place in a stimulating, less
formal environment, that enabled delegates to exchange opinions in a very
lively and fruitful debate, based on mutual respect and solidarity. The platform academy was
successful in bringing together states that otherwise rarely engage in common
discussions. It also enabled the revision of positions on specific topics and
created an opportunity to discuss future cooperation.
All the representatives are very pleased with the outcome of
the DIPLACAD and are looking forward to any similar future events
that would bring together even more countries wishing to search for
non-binding, but perspective solutions. However, the delegates showed a bit of
concern regarding the success of DIPLACAD in the future: ''We are aware that
during the 1st platform meeting, many representatives had other unavoidable
obligations. We hope that the outcome of these was as productive, educational
and mind-opening as ours and we are positive that the next DIPLACAD meeting will
be host an even broader attendance,'' pointed out representatives of China,
India, Indonesia, Russian Federation, Spain and Sweden.
Luka Kavčič
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Disclaimer: This information is fictive and serves for the purposes of the UN simulation only.
Monday, April 15, 2013
Asian-Pacific region on the work
Based on a rumor, The UN Herald assumed that the states of
the Asian-pacific region will meet in the next days. To confirm our assumptions
we checked the information with Matej Jordan, the representative of South
Korea.
What he said is that the coalition of the states of Asia-Pacific,
including China, South Korea, Indonesia and Australia, are going to meet this
week for their first semi-formal meeting, which will be held at the Faculty of
Social Sciences. The delegate was not precise about the day of the meeting,
rather mysteriously he answered, that we can expect the meeting to on Wednesday
or even Thursday this week. However, it will be closed for public, as the
representatives of the states will discuss the possible aspects of cooperation
in GA. Regarding cooperation, the representative of South Kora pointed out,
that the states will examine regional aspects of international migrations,
minorities and reform of the SC. The delegate was not very convinced that
states will find a common language on all three of the topics, but he
emphasized that the states will certainly agree on a certain issue. On the
other hand it will be hard to find a common ground on some issues, since not all
of the topics are desirable to discuss between these states. He assumes that
minorities will be the hot topic of China and that Australia, like South Korea,
will work on their strategies on the reform of the SC. However, he concluded
that the Asian-Pacific region can contribute to the fruitful debates in GA to
bring solutions towards a better world.
Aleksandra Đurđević
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Disclaimer: This information is fictive and serves for the purposes of the UN simulation only.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
The Security Council Big Five: 'Current Veto Structure will not change.'
Representatives of the current permanent members in the Security Council have met on the secret meeting at the end of the March. It is assumed that meeting, which took place in Slovenian capital of Ljubljana, was convened with the aim of harmonizing key standpoints in the process of reforming current structure and rules of procedure of Security Council. In a joint statement that was given to the media they expressed their commitment to efficient and transparent continuation of negotiations on Security Council reform. However, they made it clear that they will not negotiate proposals which would change current veto structure.Representatives of France, People's Republic of China, Russian Federation, United Kingdom and United States of America have emphasized that they will not accept any proposals that will suggest the elimination of veto power for current permanent members or the addition of veto power to other states. ''Many of reform proposals include a demand on elimination of veto power of the permanent members or include a proposal to provide veto powers to new permanent members. We would like to declare that our delegations will not compromise to any of proposals which would change the current veto structure,'' they said in an unambiguous statement.
Last part of the meeting provided some more optimistic decisions for all other members of General Assembly. Delegates of 'The Big Five' declared that they will support the cooperation of United Nations member states on the topic of Security Council reform. ''Only a proposal which would enjoy consensus among all the Members and will address the common aspirations of the Member States, will enjoy our full support,'' they concluded.
Luka Kavčič
The original document of joint statement of permanent representatives of France, People's Republic of China, Russian Federation, United Kingdom and United States of America can be found bellow:
Miss Martina Škrobar, Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations,
Mister Žiga Glavan, Permanent Representative of the People's Republic of China to the United Nations,
Miss Eva Keržič, Permanent Representative of Russian Federation to the United Nations,
Miss Iva Petković, Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the United Nations, and
Miss Urška Učakar, Permanent Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations, issue this joint statement:
»Permanent members of the Security Council of United Nations would like to express their commitment to efficient and transparent continuation of negotiations on Security Council reform. United Nation are responsible for building the kind of world in which lasting peace will be possible and Security Council must see that the peace is kept.
We recognize that various groups of Member States have presented proposals for structural and organization changes of the Security Council. Many of these proposals include a demand on elimination of veto power of the permanent members or include a proposal to provide veto powers to new permanent members. France, People's Republic of China, Russian Federation, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and United States of America would like to declare that our delegations will not compromise to any of proposals which would change the current veto structure.
Permanent members of the Security Council would like to welcome the cooperation of United Nations Member States and express our hopes for a consensus on the topic of the Security Council reform. We are certain that Member States appreciate our efforts in providing the continuation of work of the Security Council. Only a proposal which would enjoy consensus among all the Members and will address the common aspirations of the Member States, will enjoy our full support. We very much look forward to continuing this dialogue with all the Member States«
in Ljubljana, 21st of March 2013.
***
This information is fictive and serves for the purposes of the UN simulation only.
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