China has won recognition from the United Nations as it embraces its status as one of the founding members of the organization and a permanent member of the Security Council. It is “a staunch supporter” and “an important partner” of the UN and “a major player” at the world body, commented UN Under-Secretary General Joseph Verner Reed.

Reed made the remarks in Beijing in late April while addressing a seminar at the China International Publishing Group, of which Beijing Review is a member.

“We at the United Nations appreciate that China has consistently pursued an independent foreign policy of peace and firmly upholds the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,” he said.

Over the years, China has played a constructive role within the UN framework in properly handling hotspot issues in Cambodia, the Middle East, Iraq and Africa by taking part in the UN’s peacekeeping operations, he noted.

China is also actively involved in the international process of arms control, disarmament and nonproliferation. It firmly defends the relevant international treaty system and supports strengthening and improving the international nonproliferation regime on the basis of universal participation and nondiscrimination, he added.

Valuing China’s commitment to enhancing the UN’s capacities, he expects China to take a lead role in coordinating international cooperation on many fronts in meeting new threats and challenges facing the world.

He said China’s active role in resolving current and future crises would be more and more important. Its role in conflict prevention and the peace building process in some countries will be crucial, he stressed.

‘Renovator’ at the helm

In Reed’s eyes, new UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon is an “energetic renovator.”

“Breathing new life and injecting renewed confidence into the United Nations Secretariat, ‘putting the house in order,’ is one of the top priorities being outlined by the secretary general,” he said.

Reed highlighted a few steps Ban had taken since he took over the reins. The secretary-general initiated the reform of the Department of UN Peacekeeping Operations. He proposed to divide the department into two--Department of Peacekeeping Operations and Department of Field Support. After intense negotiations with the member states, agreement has been reached on this proposal.

Ban also endorsed the recommendations put forward by a high-level panel on the system-wide reform of the UN to promote coherence in the UN system.

Reed is highly aware of the urgency of the reform. Currently, the UN system contains 16 specialized agencies, 14 funds and programs, and 17 departments and offices, all leading to costly duplications and competition for resources, he noted. In some sectors, up to 20 UN entities can compete for limited resources without a clear, collaborative framework. One third of UN country teams now include 10 or more agencies on the ground at any one time.

Reed believes moving forward on system-wide coherence is a “win-win-win” solution and vision: It is a win for developing countries, which stand to gain more coherent assistance and better service delivery; it is a win for developed countries, which will be able to explain and justify to their constituents why it is right to channel resources through the UN, and demonstrate real results; and it is a win for the UN for all these reasons, and because the UN will be putting its house in better and enduring order.

Reed pointed out that the report of the high-level panel also provided an important opportunity to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, a blueprint for development set by the member states. He said donors and developing countries agreed that the UN should remain at the heart of the multilateral development system; that its development activities needed to be strengthened; and that the UN could deliver more and better development assistance.

Given these beliefs, he opined that how to improve the ability of the UN to deliver in development, humanitarian assistance and the environment was something that had a wider stake. It was a matter of life and death to millions of men, women and children around the world who depended on the UN to meet their basic human needs, he said.

“The member states have left us at the United Nations Secretariat a lot to do,” he said. “System-wide reform of the United Nations is just in an infant stage. We have a secretary-general who is fully committed to the reform of the United Nations.”