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UNITED NATIONS, June 11-- A Chinese UN envoy on Tuesday called on the international community to eliminate the root causes of armed conflict in order to fully address the issue of missing persons in armed conflict. "The Security Council should earnestly fulfill its primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security by vigorously promoting the resolution of differences through dialogue, consultation, and political negotiations to prevent conflict, resolve disputes peacefully, and reduce armed conflicts," Ma Zhaoxu, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, told a Security Council meeting on the protection of civilians and missing persons in armed conflict, which was presided over by Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Kuwait's minister of foreign affairs. The Chinese envoy said that decades ago, the Geneva Conventions and their additional protocols established clear rules regarding the issue of missing persons in armed conflict. "Regrettably, for a long time, this issue hasn't received sufficient attention and hasn't been effectively addressed." "In recent years, the number of missing persons as a result of armed conflict has continued to increase," said Ma, adding that "behind these shocking numbers is one after another family subjected to endless suffering." "They have the right to know the whereabouts of their missing families," said the Chinese ambassador. The Chinese envoy commended Resolution 2474, unanimously adopted at the Council meeting Tuesday and the first thematic resolution on the issue of missing persons in armed conflict adopted by the Council, believing it would help solve the issue. | 
