Envoy calls for deeper ties between UN, Africa

China's ambassador to the United Nations on Thursday called for in-depth cooperation between the UN and the African Union and put forward four aspects for strengthening ties.

"The UN and AU are close partners. Against the backdrop of dramatic changes in the political, economic and social landscape in the world and in African countries, and the new challenges they face, the UN and AU need to strengthen their cooperation more than ever," Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the UN, said at the UN Security Council High-Level Virtual Debate on Cooperation between the UN and AU.

The first aspect is to help African nations overcome the pandemic at an early date.

"We call on developed countries to stop overstocking vaccines, increase aid to Africa, and achieve universal access to safe and affordable vaccines in that continent at an early date," Zhang said. "We need to push for intellectual property rights exemptions for developing countries, including Africa, to localize production of vaccines," he said, adding that it is the key to helping Africa overcome COVID-19 and respond to any new pandemics in the future.

Second, Zhang said, is the need to assist Africa in solving the outstanding peace and security problems it faces. The envoy pointed out that the AU and subregional organizations have geographical, historical and cultural advantages, and can play a unique role in addressing hot spot issues in Africa.

The UN needs to encourage its international partners to increase their support to secure predictable and sustainable sources of funding for their independent peace operations, he said. "We encourage increased UN support for African countries to improve their independent counter-terrorism capabilities," Zhang said. "The AU and relevant African sub-regional organizations have been actively facilitating de-escalation of the situation on the ground, playing a significant role. They deserve the council's continuing support and coordination."

The third aspect is to focus on addressing the root causes of conflict in Africa, Zhang said. He pointed out that post-pandemic reconstruction is an opportunity to promote inclusive development and address the root causes of conflict.

"Emphasis should be placed on helping Africa, particularly post-conflict countries, to strengthen government capacity-building, enhance governance capacity, promote sustainable development, and foster social inclusion and cohesion," he said.

Fourth, said Zhang, is the need to support Africa's strength in unity.

"Africa has a tradition of independence, and the AU is the banner of Africa's unity and self-reliance. We need to respect the sovereignty and leadership of African countries and support African countries in exploring and following development paths well suited to their national conditions," he said.

The envoy emphasized that African countries are in the best position to tell how the continent's problems should be solved and how it should be governed.

"China stands opposed to interference in the internal affairs, the imposition of governance models, the incitement of contradictions or divisions among African countries, the practice of attaching a political string to aid, and the attempt to use Africa to seek political self-interest. Such practices have no market and therefore won't work in Africa," he said.