Mr. President,

I thank Special Representative Abdou Abarry for his briefing. In light of the Secretary-General’s report. I would like to emphasize the following points.

First, regional countries have made enormous effort to maintain political stability and improve national governance. Recently, Cameroon has been actively implementing the outcomes of it national dialogue and promoting the development and reconstruction of its southwest and northwest regions, the CAR has successfully adopted a new constitution, while Chad will hold a constitutional referendum soon. The whole world bears witness to these developments. Next year, some countries in the region will start political transitions and hold general elections. The international community should support countries of the region in following a development path well suited to their national conditions, and should respect their sovereignty and ownership.

Second, regional counter-terrorism operations have achieved major results. The CAR Government has disarmed a large number of former combatants of the Lord's Resistance Army. These efforts deserve our full recognition. At the same time, Boko Haram and ISIL have mounted repeated attacks, illegal armed groups and separatist forces still threaten the security of countries of the region, and the conflict in South Sudan is impacting the CAR and Chad. China supports ECCAS in leading regional countries to embrace the concept of common security, strengthen collective security mechanisms, and work together to tackle security challenges. UNOCA should provide assistance in building regional security mechanisms, while the international community should provide greater financial and technical support for counter-terrorism capacity building, security sector reform, and DDR programs. Recently, piracy problems are on the rise in the Gulf of Guinea as a number of fishing and commercial vessels suffered armed robberies and attacks. The international community should continue to support the anti-piracy actions of regional countries and explore cooperation in joint law enforcement operations and joint escorting vessels, so as to maintain maritime security in the region.

Third, it is important to focus on the root causes of conflict. During the reporting period, UNOCA and UNOWAS conducted a joint assessment of the impact of Boko Haram, which identified economic hardship as a key driver of youth joining extremist groups and engaging in illegal activities. This assessment fully demonstrates that poverty and uneven development can be a breeding ground for extremism, conflict, and violence. During our Council presidency last month, China initiated an open debate on promoting sustaining peace through common development. And the primary objective of the debate was to have the Council better focused on the intrinsic linkage between peace and development and to propose development solutions for the realization of lasting peace. As many countries in Central Africa face tough challenges in poverty reduction and development, China supports UNOCA in placing greater emphasis on addressing the root causes of conflict from a development perspective, so as to explore more effective pathways and solutions for achieving lasting peace of the region.

China has been closely following the challenges caused by climate change. At the latest COP28 in Dubai, Secretary-General Guterres emphasized that developing countries, including those in Africa, urgently need financial and technical support to cope with climate change, and called on developed countries to make clear the status of the delivery of the 100 billion climate finance. China calls on the international community, especially developed countries, to respond to the SG’s appeal and to give greater support to the countries of the region.

Thank you, Mr. President.