2

TOPIC A: THE FUTURE OF PEACEKEEPING, PEACEMAKING AND PEACEBUILDING

The People’s Republic of China welcomes the discussion of this topic in the United Nations Special

Political and Decolonization Committee, since it covers the very essence of the United Nations:

promoting worldwide peace through diplomacy and compromise. It is also an omnipresent topic.

Indeed, Plato once said: “Only the dead have seen the end of war”, signifying that it is very unlikely

that mankind will ever totally eradicate armed conflicts. Hence, we must do the next best thing:

prevent imminent armed conflicts as much as possible, and enforce peacemaking, peacebuilding and

peacekeeping in conflict areas, such as Ukraine, the Middle East, and many other troubled territories.

In order to achieve these objectives, and ensure that international peace, democracy, diplomacy, law

and order be respected, the People’s Republic of China is in favor of the creation of a worldwide

framework under tutelage of the United Nations, that would be in charge of rapidly detecting and

defusing imminent armed conflicts all over the world, as well as setting up and coordinating forces

and infrastructure so as to render a swift intervention by peacekeeping troops and police possible.

That framework would encompass all local organizations dealing with the same issue, by taking over

their knowledge, knowhow, and offering wider financial, logistical and human support so as to more

effectively take durable action against the issue in question. Until now, such actions have either been

undertaken by those local frameworks especially created regarding a certain conflict, or by a (too)

vastly overseeing entity with poor insight and inadequate means. This excessive bureaucratization

has often led to ineffectiveness in critical, pressing situations. This ineffectiveness, in turn, sparked

catastrophic events, often involving the massacre of civilians, like the 1994 Rwanda genocide.

To overcome this ineffectiveness and potentially save tens of thousands of innocent lives in the

future, all honorable nations of this world will be cordially invited to join the aforementioned

worldwide peacemaking, peacebuilding and peacekeeping framework. In this position paper, we will

refer to this project as the United Nations Peace Framework, or UNPFW. This international alliance of

nations will also ensure validity and widespread support of any rightful action the UNPFW may

undertake under its mandate, and guarantee the relative safety of any and all agents, police, and

peacekeeping troops sent on mission. These missions shall be validated only when both conflicting

parties, if recognized by the United Nations, have given their green light. They shall also respect each

nation’s territorial integrity, by enforcing total impartiality, and a strict policy of non-violence, except

in case of self-defense or in defense of any direct threat against the present civilian population.

Additionally, the UNPFW, as an original initiative from the People’s Republic of China, will propose a

durable solution to potential and actual armed conflicts, by considering all three dimensions of

peacebuilding: from the obvious primary elements, such as demilitarization, the reconstruction of

local infrastructure and addressing the actual causes of the conflict (of whatever nature they might

be) to more subtle elements, such as encouraging dialogue and social acceptance, among others, to

make societal healing, progress and democracy possible. Finally, since war is a never-ending issue,

the People’s Republic of China calls on the entire world to remain united in the battle for peace, or as

Albert Einstein stated: “Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.”

3

TOPIC B: INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION FOR PEACEFUL UTILIZATION OF OUTER SPACE

Once again, the People’s Republic of China looks favorably upon the discussion of this Topic in the

United Nations Special Political and Decolonization Committee. In fact, it has become abundantly

clear to the Chinese people that, with mankind’s ever-increasing interest in the exploration, study

and utilization of outer space, the need of certain rules concerning its peaceful use also increases

exponentially.

Indeed, it has been widely observed that nations all around the globe have taken measures to

protect their citizens against military threats, both originating from outer space and using outer

space as a medium or support. These threats include ballistic missiles of any range, spy satellites,

possible weaponized satellites and even ground infrastructure capable of destroying satellites and

spacecraft, among many others. The measures that have been undertaken are specifically focused

on ground control, rapid assessment and reaction to observed threats and military solutions to acts

of aggression from outer space as well as destruction or damage to spatial equipment by another

nation’s ground infrastructure. Sadly, all these measures have forsaken international trust and peace,

broken global strategic balance and stability, and hampered nuclear disarmament.

On a related note, the peaceful utilization of outer space starts with the assurance that the safety of

each and every human sent into space, for whatever reason (as long as it has peaceful intentions),

will remain unchallenged. This brings up two concerns: one is merely military and will be explicitly

discussed further down in this paper; the other flows out from the decades’ worth of spacecraft’s

waste and debris found all around planet Earth’s orbit. To respond to this situation, the People’s

Republic of China greatly supports a worldwide, binding resolution on minimizing space waste.

In reaction to these alarming issues, the People’s Republic of China would firstly like to state that it is

a firm believer in the possibility of a binding treaty controlling and prohibiting the use of force in

space, both as an act of aggression against any entity on Earth or any equipment, base, station or

craft in outer space. Secondly, China will devote itself to writing and promoting a resolution binding

all nation states to collaborate peacefully in the field of spatial study, utilization and exploration,

while minimizing space waste. Thirdly, we urge the United States of America and any other nation

with similar interests to abandon all plans to weaponize or further militarize outer space.

More specifically, we feel that the issue, that the Special Political and Decolonization Committee is

faced with, can be effectively and durably resolved by taking a series of measures. First of all, there is

to be a treaty uniting all bona fide nations of this world on the subject of peace in space, open for

signature of any nation recognized by the United Nations. Secondly, this treaty should define outer

space as an area intrinsically devoid of military or imperialistic tensions; an international place

devoted to science, research and exploration. Thirdly, the treaty should tackle the issue of space

waste, for example by launching a worldwide initiative in order to monitor, minimize and prevent

space waste, open to all nations and agencies. Fourthly, we encourage all nations wishing to

cooperate towards study and peaceful exploration of outer space to come together in one worldwide

space agency. Finally, we encourage all nations on Earth to remain united and actively seized of any

and all space-related matters, or as Alexandre Dumas once wrote: “All for one and one for all.”