Addressing an open debate of the United Nations Security Council on peace-building, Chinese Deputy Representative to UN Shen Guofang said the purposes and principles are respect for the political independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the countries concerned as well as for the will of their governments and people.

The work of peace-building involves the country concerned, the United Nations, the international community and other relevant players, and there is no doubt that the country concerned should be at the core of all peace-building efforts, Shen noted.

Either during the preventive peace-building process before the conflict or in post-conflict peace-building period, the United Nations and the international community at large are always external contributing factors, and their roles lie in helping and supporting the governments and people of the post-conflict countries in their reconstruction efforts, he said.

Stressing that internal matters of a country should eventually be handled by the people of the country of their own, Shen said while participating in peace-building efforts, the international community should focus on helping the people realize their independence and self-reliance so that their dependence on external assistance will gradually decrease.

The people in the country concerned should be encouraged to play a leading role during the peace-building process, Shen added.

(Xinhua 06/02/2001))