Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the United Nations. Photo: VNA

In a world riddled with uncertainties and strategic complexities, trust plays a critical role in conflict prevention and solution, and is the bedrock for a multilateral system that can achieve and sustain peace, Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the United Nations, told the UN Security Council’s open debate on “Future-proofing trust for sustaining peace” on May 3, VNA reported Thursday.

Stressing that trust cannot be coerced or manufactured but rests on the principles of fairness and equality, Giang called on all actors in international relations, especially the major powers, to act in good faith and uphold their responsibility, while fully considering the legitimate interests of all parties and stakeholders.

Multilateralism and respect for international law, including the UN Charter, should be the core elements of trust-building, he emphasised.

Regarding post-conflict peace-building, the Vietnamese representative emphasised the importance of enhancing mutual understanding and trust, especially between UN Peacekeeping Missions and authorities, people as well as political and armed forces of the receiving countries.

In his statement, he also called on the international community and the UN Security Council to promote solutions to build confidence in dealing with the root causes of conflicts such as poverty and inequality, on the basis of improving transparency and inclusive in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, while identifying trust-building as one of the key components of the UN Secretary-General's New Agenda for Peace.

Vietnam always places great importance on weaving trust and trust-building into its domestic and foreign policies. This helps maintain national unity and enhance international integration. It is clearly reflected in the country’s consistent foreign policy of diversification and a commitment to being a trusted international partner.

It is also shown in the country’s contribution to the UN work, UN peacekeeping operations and other multilateral forums, he added.

On May 3, Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland, Ignazio Cassis, chaired the first Swiss flagship event "Futureproofing Trust for Sustaining Peace" during its presidency of the UN Security Council. Credit: Swiss UN

The UN Security Council opened debate under the agenda item "Peacebuilding and sustaining peace" to take stock of, review and strengthen the approaches of the Security Council towards building trust to foster sustainable peace in the light of current and emerging threats.

The open debate was convened by Switzerland as a signature event of its first ever presidency to the security council. The open debate was chaired by the Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland, Ignazio Cassis.

This event highlighted the priority: building sustainable peace.

At the debate, delegates expressed concern about the erosion of trust in international relations and in multilateral mechanisms that results in an increase in the risk of conflicts and challenges for the international community in building and maintaining peace.

Relevant countries and organisations also emphasised the need to restore and strengthen trust at both the global and regional levels as well as at the national scale for the sake of sustainable and long-term peace.

Last month, Giang also spoke at the UNSC’s ministerial-level discussion themed “Effective Multilateralism through the Defence of the Principles of the United Nations Charter and the 1970 Declaration on Principles of International Law” in New York.

At the discussion, which drew representatives from 50 UNSC member states, the ambassador stressed that multilateralism is only effective if there is goodwill, mutual respect and understanding in a spirit of openness, inclusiveness and equality.

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