Chinese envoy calls for efforts to ease humanitarian, economic crises in Afghanistan

UNITED NATIONS - A Chinese envoy said Thursday that helping Afghanistan ease the humanitarian and economic crises is the top priority for the international community.

Since the withdrawal of foreign troops last August, Afghanistan has ushered in a critical phase of peaceful reconstruction. China supports the important role of the United Nations in Afghan and welcomes the mandate renewal of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) to enable it to provide assistance for the peace, stability and development of Afghanistan, said Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations.

In an explanation of vote after the vote on the mandate renewal, Zhang said helping Afghanistan ease the humanitarian and economic crises is the most urgent task at present, and should be the most important work of UNAMA in the coming period.

UNAMA should actively implement its mandate, urge major donors to increase aid without political preconditions, and help Afghanistan improve people's livelihood, he said. "We expect UNAMA to assist Afghanistan in cooperating with international financial institutions to gradually activate Afghanistan's commercial and financial activities and promote economic and social development."

The Security Council resolution specifies that Afghan assets belong to the Afghan people, which reflects the common view of the international community. In line with the clear mandate from the Security Council, UNAMA should further coordinate the unfreezing of Afghanistan's overseas assets. China calls on the expeditious unfreezing of Afghan assets and the unconditional return of these assets to the Afghan people, said Zhang.

The de-facto authorities in Afghan are actively conducting foreign relations and taking measures to respond to the expectations of the international community. The general direction is correct. The international community should adhere to the Afghan-led and Afghan-owned principle, strengthen contacts with the Afghan interim government and all other parties, activity guide and promote the establishment of an open and inclusive political structure, and gradually restore order, rule of law and economic development, he said.

The international community should support Afghanistan in increasing investment in education and health, protecting the basic rights of all people, including women and children, combating terrorism in all its forms, and developing friendly cooperation with other countries, he added.

This time, the Security Council significantly reprioritized UNAMA's mandate in light of the changing situation on the ground. As the situation is unfolding too fast and filled with many uncertainties, it is not an easy task to ensure that the new mandate fits the latest developments, meets the real needs of the Afghan people, and is practical and feasible to implement, said Zhang.

He asked Security Council members to take stock of UNAMA's future work in a timely fashion and be ready to make new adjustments at any time.

Always respecting the sovereignty and leadership of Afghanistan, UNAMA should pay attention to the legitimate concerns of the Afghan interim government and carry out various tasks on the basis of active communication and mutual understanding, he said.

For a long time, the neighbors of Afghanistan and regional countries have actively supported Afghanistan in its peace, reconciliation and reconstruction process, and made great efforts to promote its peaceful development. China is making preparations for the third meeting of foreign ministers of Afghanistan's neighbors, and is ready to promote communication and coordination of regional countries so as to create a favorable environment for the stability and reconstruction in Afghanistan, said Zhang.