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UN hopes for Chinese involvement:
Larger role in multilateral humanitarian efforts
CHINA: The United Nations hoped China would get more involved
in humanitarian efforts by multilateral and multinational institutions,
a senior UN official said here Wednesday.
There was “a great response internationally to the Wenchuan
earthquake” in southwest China last year and “in the same way, China can
help other countries when they are also suffering from problems,” said
John Holmes, UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and
emergency relief coordinator. “We think the Chinese government has done
an extremely effective and efficient job both in immediate relief
operations and, as far as we can see, in the recovery and
reconstruction,” Holmes said in an interview with Xinhua.
He said some UN agencies were helping quake zone recovery and
reconstruction and the UN system was very ready to offer expertise.
Speaking of World Earth Day, which was Wednesday, Holmes said he
believed that climate change would produce more and more intense
disasters “so we need to work together as an international system to
reduce the impact of the disasters before they happen.
“China is actually very good at that,” said Holmes. “You have been
taking a lot of steps to reduce the impact of flooding, you have good
experience in how to do with drought, and that is experience that can be
shared with the rest of the world.”
Holmes praised cooperation between China and member countries of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations as well as trilateral cooperation
among China, Japan and the Republic of Korea.
He said such cooperation was a collective international effort to
reduce the impact of disasters. With regard to China-UN cooperation,
Holmes said the UN had very good cooperation with China’s ministries of
civil affairs and commerce, the China Earthquake Administration and the
National Committee on Disaster Reduction and wanted to improve that
cooperation.
The UN hoped to involve China more deeply in international
cooperation through regular consultations, contacts, conferences and
initiatives, said Holmes. BEIJING, Thursday, Xinhua |
