Mr. President, 

I thank Special Representative Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert for her briefing, and thank the representative of the civil society for the statement. I welcome the representative of Iraq at this meeting. 

Last month, a devastating fire accident in Nineveh Governorate, Iraq caused huge casualties. I would like to take this opportunity to convey to the representative of Iraq and through him to the bereaved families and the injured my sincere condolences. 

Mr. President, 

Since the beginning of this year, the Iraqi Government has been promoting economic reforms, creating job opportunities, cracking down on corruption, and actively improving public services. It has smoothly adopted its national budget and made remarkable progress in all of the above efforts, which China is pleased to see. Strengthening unity and reconciliation among and development for all the parties in Iraq is in the fundamental interests of the Iraqi people. We support the Iraqi federal government and KRG in strengthening dialogue and consultations on pending issues with a view to finding sustainable solutions. 

With a still grave security situation in Iraq, the international community should continue to firmly support Iraq in eliminating the remnants of terror and consolidating its hard-won counterterrorism gains. UNITAD should fully implement the Council resolutions in a timely and comprehensive manner, hand over the evidence it has gathered to Iraq, perform well on the last mile of its mandate, and complete its historic mission of supporting Iraq in holding terrorists accountable. 

Peace in Iraq cannot be achieved without a stable regional environment. Recently, Iraq has protested on many occasions against unilateral military operations by some foreign country in its territory. We urge the country concerned to respect in real earnest the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Iraq. China has noted the issue of the khor abdullah waterway just mentioned by SRSG Hennis-Plasschaert. The development of good neighborly and friendly relations between Iraq and Kuwait is in the common interest of the two countries. We hope that the two countries will resolve the issues through dialogue and consultations on the basis of international law and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. China support Iraq and Kuwait in continuing their work together towards further progress in their search for the missing Kuwaiti nationals and property. 

Mr. President, 

This year marks the 20th anniversary of UNAMI. we support the Secretary-General's request, in accordance with Council Resolution 2682, for an independent strategic assessment of UNAMI, and for recommendations on streamlining UNAMI, optimizing its mandate, and rationalizing its allocation of human and financial resources. On that basis, the Council should also carefully study the medium- and long-term prospects of UNAMI, so as to better adapt to the developments on the ground and respond to the needs of the country concerned. 

Thank you. Mr. President.