Chinese President Hu Jintao made a four-point proposal in New York on Thursday regarding the reform of the United Nations in his speech at the Roundtable of the UN Summit 2005.
There are four roundtable meetings running parallel with the summit, where world leaders gathered to mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the world body. The theme of each roundtable meeting could cover the whole agenda of the summit, including the UN reform, maintenance of world peace and promotion of development and cooperation.
In his speech titled "Advance the Reform Process Through Democratic Consultation," Hu stressed that the new international situation presents new challenges to the United Nations.
"We should seize the historic opportunity to introduce rational and necessary reforms to the organization so that it can better fulfill its mandate under the Charter," the Chinese president said.
Hu then made a four-point proposal regarding the reform of the UN.
Firstly, people should keep focused on the overall interests while adhering to principles, he said.
The reform bears on the future and destiny of the organization, so "we should therefore proceed from the present conditions, take a long-term perspective, and handle it properly with a highly responsible attitude toward people of all countries," Hu said.
The reform should help uphold the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, enable the world body to play a bigger role and safeguard the common interests of the member states. This is an important yardstick against which all reform proposals should be measured, Hu observed.
Second, democracy should be promoted and extensive consultation conducted in the reform, he said. Since the UN reform bears on the vital interests of various parties, it is necessary to have full deliberation and extensive consultations where opinions of different parties are respected and concerns mutually accommodated.
"Only by so doing can the reform gain extensive support and enjoy a solid foundation," Hu said.
Third, gradual progress is required and should be made in an active and prudent manner. While there is indeed a sense of urgency to the UN reform, the more urgent the task is, the more important it is to keep a right speed and guard against rashness, the Chinese president said.
For proposals on which consensus has been or can be reached, decisions may be made promptly for their implementation without delay, he said. But for those proposals where major differences still exist, further exchanges of views may be conducted to seek consensus, Hu added.
"In this way, it will be possible to produce more results in reform while maintaining membership unity and ensure that the results can withstand the test of time and practice," he said.
Fourth, reform should be advanced on all fronts with clearly defined priorities. Spanning across as security, development, the rule of law and institutional reforms, the UN reform needs an integrated approach, Hu said.
Since developing countries account for two-thirds of the UN membership, their views should be taken into full account and all their interests truly safeguarded, he said. herein lies the key to the success of the UN reform.
"Giving developing countries greater representation and say in the UN, increasing the UN's input to the question of development and realizing the Millennium Development Goals on schedule, these should be places on the very top of the reform agenda," Hu stressed.
China is firmly committed to the UN reform and stands ready to join hands with other member states in promoting a sound progress of the reform, thus enabling the UN to make greater contribution to the lofty cause of peace and development for mankind, Hu said.
Thursday's roundtable meeting was attended by leaders or their representatives from some 30 countries including Zambia, Ghana and Colombia.