Minister Counselor Le Thi Minh Thoa, Deputy Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the UN. (Photo: VOV's correspondent in Washington)

Minister Counselor Le Thi Minh Thoa, Deputy Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the UN addressed the annual session of the Special Committee on the Charter of the UN, which is taking place in New York from February 20-28 involving representatives from nearly 90 member countries and many international organizations.

This year’s meeting focused on the role of the UN Charter in maintaining international peace and security, and addressing disputes by peaceful measures, along with the use of mediation measures in the work.

Regarding sanctions, Thoa emphasized that they would not help promote friendship and cooperation, but should only be the last measure and match the UN Charter and international law. She called on Sanctions Committees and experts to consider and assess impacts on economic activities and livelihoods of people, especially vulnerable groups.

For the settlement of disputes by peaceful means, she noted that Vietnam always upholds this basic principle of international law and supports the measures. With the assistance of a neutral third party in mediation, which could be an individual, any country/group of countries or international organization, relevant sides would begin direct negotiations or seek other solutions, Thoa suggested.