Vietnam attends annual meeting of special committee on UN Charter

The Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations opened its annual meeting on February 21 with the participation of representatives from more than 80 member states.

This year’s session focuses on the role of the UN Charter in maintaining international peace and security, and the peaceful settlement of disputes as well as the role of regional mechanisms and agreements.

Addressing the session, Minister Counsellor Le Thi Minh Thoa, Deputy Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the UN, underlined the need to abide by the UN Charter and principles of international law to maintain international peace and security, especially when the world is facing many common challenges.

Regarding sanctions, Thoa said the measure should only be applied when it is the last solution. In order to prevent adverse effects on economic activities and people's lives, sanctions should be built on a clear legal basis with specific objectives and application time, she said.

In addition, it is necessary to make periodic reviews to ensure that when the goal is achieved, sanctions are also lifted, said the Vietnamese representative who called on sanction committees and expert groups to fully consider the impact of sanctions on third countries.

Over the peaceful settlement of disputes, Thoa affirmed that Vietnam always upholds this fundamental principle of international law, and supports measures stated in Article 33 of the UN Charter.

Vietnam supports the exchange and sharing of information on national practices in using regional mechanisms and agreements to build trust, prevent and reduce conflicts, she stated.

She affirmed that at the regional level, the ASEAN has taken the leading role in efforts to establish a series of effective dialogue mechanisms such as the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and the East Asia Summit (EAS).

Along with continuing to reinforcing fundamental documents for friendly cooperation and dispute settlement such as the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC), the association has worked with partners to implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and negotiate for a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) in line with international law and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS), said Thoa.

The Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations was established in 1975, creating a forum for member states to discuss the implementation of the Charter. The Special Committee meets annually to consider relevant proposals. Since its adoption in 1945, the UN Charter has been revised three times in 1963, 1965 and 1973./.

VNA