Mr. President

I thank Special Representative Abdoulaye Bathily for his briefing. I would also like to thank the Chair of the 1970 Committee Ambassador Ishikane Kimihiro for his briefing. I welcome the Permanent Representative of Libya to today's meeting. 

Recently, various parties in Libya have made great efforts to promote political dialogue, maintain security and stability, and tackle the impacts of the floods. Nonetheless, they are still confronted with unprecedented challenges. The international community and the Security Council should provide more support to help Libya tide over the difficulties. In this connection. I would like to make three points. 

First, it is important to maintain the momentum of political dialogue. China notes that the various parties in Libya have started a dialogue on the formation of electoral roadmap and that the House of Representatives announced its approval of the electoral laws. China hopes that all parties will consolidate the results of the dialogue, resolve conflicts and narrow differences, and move the political process forward to achieve progress in order to create conditions for the general election. It should be pointed out that only a Libyan-led and Libyan-owned process is conducive to genuine long-term stability in Libya. The international community should respect Libya’s sovereignty and leadership and refrain from imposing solutions from the outside. 

Second, it is important to make robust efforts to address the humanitarian crisis. The recent floods ravaged Libya, causing more than 10,000 deaths and disappearances and huge displacements of populations. Housing, medical service institutions, water supply facilities are among the infrastructures damaged. In the wake of the flood, China announced it would provide 30 million RMB of emergency humanitarian assistance. On the 25th of last month, the urgently needed humanitarian supplies from China arrived in Benghazi and were delivered to those in need. China calls on the international community to scale up humanitarian assistance to help the Libyan people overcome the effects of the disasters and rebuild their homes. The flood is a natural disaster, but there are also man-made factors at play. NATO's military intervention has resulted in a decade-long turmoil in Libya, with state institutions torn apart and massive destruction done to infrastructure, which to this day has not been repaired. It bears inescapable responsibility for the huge losses and casualties caused by the flood. Libya urgently needs humanitarian aid, and yet its overseas assets are still frozen. China has made suggestions on many occasions when discussing the Libyan sanctions resolution. We hope that the Security Council will attach great importance to this and take concrete measures. 

Third, with regard to the upcoming consideration of the extension of UNSMIL’s mandates by the Security Council, China hopes that UNSMIL will support Libya's efforts for dialogue and consultation, Take care of the legitimate concerns of all parties, and play a constructive role. Recent weeks have seen a resurgence of armed clashes in Tripoli and other places. China urges all parties to take measures to prevent similar incidents from happening again. SRSG Bathily should continue to push the 5+5 Joint Military Commission to strengthen dialogue, so as to make progress as soon as possible in terms of unified troops and ceasefire monitoring mechanism, and urge foreign forces and foreign fighters and mercenaries in Libya to withdraw as soon as possible in a smooth and orderly manner. 

I thank you, Mr. President.