Envoy calls for end to legacy of colonialism

A Chinese envoy to the United Nations has called on the international community to end colonialism's harm and legacy, and promote a fairer international order.

"We urge the international community to collectively address the harm caused by colonialism, eradicate its lasting legacy, uphold international fairness and justice, and foster the establishment of a fairer and more equitable international order," Geng Shuang, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, said.

Geng spoke at a general debate of the UN Special Political and Decolonization Committee, or Fourth Committee, on Tuesday.

"Colonialism stands as the darkest chapter in human civilization's history, leaving an enduring scar in the course of human development. During that era, a few Western countries promoted slavery overseas and engaged in the slave trade for their own selfish interests, amassing wealth and happiness at the expense of countless lives and untold human tragedies.

"Even today, the legacy of colonialism endures, colonialist ideologies persist, and the world we inhabit has yet to fully emerge from the shadow of colonialism," Geng said.

Social inequalities

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has emphasized the direct correlation between today's social and economic inequalities and centuries of colonial exploitation, Geng noted.

During the recently concluded general debate of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly, leaders from developing countries voiced their grievances over the serious disasters colonialism had brought to their countries and the world, and called for the matter of compensation to be addressed, a sentiment that found resonance across many countries in the Global South, Geng said.

"China urges those countries that have implemented the colonial system or benefited from it to show political will, shoulder historical responsibilities, compensate for the consequences of colonization, and stop pursuing colonial thinking in international relations, manipulating power politics, and harming the interests of other countries," the envoy said.