China has released a white paper on the participation of the country’s armed forces in the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping operations

The Ministry of Defense of China has released a white paper on the participation of the country’s armed forces in the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping operations.

The white paper, titled “China’s Armed Forces: 30 Years of UN Peacekeeping Operations,” was released by the State Council Information Office. Serving on the UN missions for world peace, China’s armed forces have become a key force in UN peacekeeping operations over the past three decades, says the document.

Chinese peacekeepers have left their footprints in over 20 countries and regions including Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Sudan, Lebanon, Cyprus, South Sudan, Mali and the Central African Republic.

They have made a tremendous contribution to facilitating the peaceful settlement of disputes, safeguarding regional security and stability, and promoting economic and social development in host nations, the document says. China has faithfully implemented the pledges it announced at a UN Summit to support UN peacekeeping through actions including setting up a peacekeeping standby force, sending more enabler troops to UN peacekeeping operations, helping train foreign peacekeepers and providing military aid gratis to the African Union, it says. China’s armed forces have also cooperated on peacekeeping with over 90 countries and 10 international and regional organizations, it says.

Contributing to building a community with a shared future for humanity, China will continue to play its part as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and firmly support and participate in the UN peacekeeping operations, according to the white paper.

China’s armed forces are committed to strengthening bilateral and multilateral communication for better understanding and mutual trust. They have carried out active peacekeeping cooperation with the militaries of countries including Russia, Pakistan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam, France, Germany, the UK, and the US. Through reciprocal visits, China’s armed forces and their foreign counterparts have strengthened communication on policies, made cooperation
plans, and advanced friendly state-to-state and military-to-military relations.

In May 2010, the first China-US consultation on the UNPKOs was held in Beijing.

In April 2015, the defense ministers of China and Vietnam signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on peacekeeping cooperation between the two ministries in Beijing. That same year, China conducted the first BRICS consultation on the UNPKOs with Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa. In February 2017, the first China-UK dialogue on peacekeeping operations was
held in the UK. In April 2018, military advisers of Russia, France, the UK and the US to the UN Military Staff Committee visited China and exchanged extensive views on the UNPKOs with the Chinese side. In May, the defense ministries of China and Pakistan signed a protocol on policy collaboration with regard to the UNPKOs. In October, the German defense minister visited the Training Base of the Peacekeeping Affairs Center of the Chinese Ministry of National Defense (MND), and a peacekeeping delegation from the Chinese MND visited the German Armed Forces United Nations Training Centre.

The document also includes a timeline of Chinese armed forces’ activities in the UN peacekeeping operations.

Story: Sheila Satori Mensa

Coronavirus pandemic will cause global famines of ‘biblical proportions’ – UN warns, as it lists Nigeria among countries at risk of famine

The United Nations has warned nations of the world to prepare for global famines of ‘biblical proportions’ due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic while naming Nigeria amongst a list of top ten countries at risk of an all out famine.

According to the executive director of the UN World Food Programme (WFP), David Beasley, in a matter of months the pandemic will push an additional 130 million people to the brink of starvation and in a worst case scenario famines will occur “about three dozen countries”.

According to the UN, ten out of those three dozen countries already have more than 1 million people close to starvation.

According to the UNWFP Director Beasley (pictured above), vast food shortages will occur due to factors like conflict, economic recession, a decline in aid and a collapse in oil prices.

“While dealing with a Covid-19 pandemic, we are also on the brink of a hunger pandemic,” David Beasley told the UN’s security council.

“There is also a real danger that more people could potentially die from the economic impact of Covid-19 than from the virus itself.”

The agency identified 55 countries, with ten being singled as mostly at risk of a ‘hunger pandemic’. The ten countries include Yemen, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Afghanistan, Venezuela, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Nigeria and Haiti.

According to the UN Agency, these countries apart from being at risk of entering famine have fragile healthcare systems which make them unable to cope with the impact of the virus.

“These countries may face an excruciating trade-off between saving lives or livelihoods or, in a worst-case scenario, saving people from the coronavirus to have them die from hunger,” the report said.

“Lockdowns and economic recession are expected to lead to a major loss of income among the working poor,” Beasley said. Overseas remittances will also drop sharply, affecting countries such as Haiti, Nepal, and Somalia, for example.

“The loss of tourism receipts will damage countries such as Ethiopia (and) the collapsing oil prices in lower-income countries like South Sudan will have an impact significantly,” he added.

He appealed to UN member states to act now, telling them: “There are no famines yet. But I must warn you that if we don’t prepare and act now — to secure access, avoid funding shortfalls and disruptions to trade — we could be facing multiple famines of biblical proportions within a short few months.

“The truth is, we do not have time on our side, so let’s act wisely — and let’s act fast,” he added. “I do believe that with our expertise and partnerships, we can bring together the teams and the programs necessary to make certain the Covid-19 pandemic does not become a humanitarian and food crisis catastrophe.”