UN sanctions are only a means, not an end in itself, and should serve the political solutions of relevant problems, a Chinese envoy to the United Nations said on Tuesday. 

"The sanctions should be predicated upon the exhaustion of other peaceful means, be consistent with the Charter and the relevant principles of international law in order to minimize the impact on the general population and the third states," Wu Haitao, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, said at the General Debate of the 2020 Session of the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization. 

Last week, a spokesperson for China's Permanent Mission to the UN made similar remarks when commenting on the leakage of a report on sanctions against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). Sanctions are a means rather than an end, the spokesperson said, noting that China has borne huge losses and tremendous pressure by implementing relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council. 

The resolutions affirm that sanction measures are not intended to have adverse humanitarian consequences for the civilian population of the DPRK, the spokesperson stressed. 

At Tuesday's debate, Wu called on the international community to abide by and implement the sanctions resolutions of the Security Council and voiced opposition to the imposition of additional unilateral sanctions in contradiction to the UN Charter. 

He also reiterated the importance of upholding multilateralism in the context of rising unilateralism and protectionism. 

"This year marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the UN, as well as the victory of the Second World War," said Wu. "A revisit to the spirit of the UN Charter and an exploration of the UN's role in international affairs are the best way to commemorate the anniversary, and are of great relevance today." 

However, he said, at present, unilateralism and protectionism are rampant, regional hotspots and conflicts keep popping up; non-traditional threats to security continue to spread. 
  
"We still have much to do and a long way to go for maintaining world peace and stability," he stressed. 
  
In response to these challenges, Wu proposed the world should reaffirm the commitment to multilateralism, safeguard both the international system with the UN at its core and the international order based on international law. 

(With input from Xinhua)