President, 

I thank Special Representative Roza Otunbayeva, Assistant Secretary-General Joyce Msuya, and Executive Director Sima Bahous for their briefings. I express my appreciation for the work carried out by UNAMA, OCHA, UN Women, and other UN agencies. 

The current situation in Afghanistan is generally stable. The interim government has made positive efforts in economic development, improving people’s livelihood, combating narcotics, and external exchanges, and has made considerable progress. However, the country is still facing multiple challenges, including humanitarian situation, development, human rights, terrorist threats, and women’s rights. The international community should continue to play a constructive role in helping the country emerge from its difficult situation at an early date. I wish to share the following points.

First, we must maintain the momentum of dialogue and engagement with the interim government and continuously enhance mutual understanding and trust. We have taken note of the political roadmap proposed by UNAMA, and we support the mosaic approach to synchronizing efforts to address the concerns of all parties. We hope all parties could set reasonable expectations and discuss the issue in a pragmatic spirit, with a view to putting forward feasible solutions. The Security Council should expeditiously reactivate the package of travel ban exemptions regarding relevant personnel of the interim government and make timely adjustments to the 1988 sanctions regime, so as to facilitate the engagement between the international community and the interim government. 

Second, we must increase humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan and translate our concern for the Afghan people into practical action. The Secretary-General’s report indicated that nearly 23 million people in Afghanistan are in need of humanitarian assistance, but only 15.7% of the humanitarian funding required for this year has been secured. According to USG Tom Fletcher for Humanitarian Affairs, major donors have drastically reduced their assistance to the country, seriously impacting humanitarian aid on the ground. We call on all traditional donors, especially those who bear a historical responsibility for the current plight in Afghanistan, to stop politicizing and instrumentalizing humanitarian assistance and to immediately resume their financial inputs to Afghanistan, in order to help the Afghan people overcome their current difficulties. 

Third, we must provide assistance for Afghanistan’s economic reconstruction and help the country embark on the path of self-driven development at an early date. We welcome the meetings under the Doha process of the two working groups on private sector and counter narcotics to be held at the end of the month, and we look forward to more practical results in such areas as micro-financing and crop substitution, so as to better meet the needs of the Afghan people. All parties should continue to help the country enhance its development capacity through bilateral, multilateral, and regional cooperation mechanisms, and gradually integrate into the regional and world economy. Countries concerned should immediately lift unilateral sanctions illegally imposed on Afghanistan, unconditionally return its overseas assets, and create necessary conditions for the development of the Afghan economy and people’s livelihood. 

Fourth, we must urge Afghanistan to uphold women’s rights and guide the interim government in gradually changing its policies. The broad international community expects that the interim government should ensure women’s equal rights to education, employment, and participation in public affairs, which will help maintain social stability and healthy economic development in the country. At the same time, it should also be noted that women’s rights do not represent the totality of the Afghan issue, much less the root cause of the current problem. While adhering to international standards, parties should also understand Afghanistan’s national conditions and ethnic customs, and avoid making excessively high and stringent demands or linking this issue to others, which would in turn hamper outside contacts and exchanges with Afghanistan. 

Fifth, we must be resolute in countering terrorism, so as to prevent Afghanistan from once again becoming a hub for terrorist organizations. The international community should encourage and support the interim government to take more vigorous actions against all terrorist forces, including Daesh, Al Qaeda, the ETIM, and the TTP, and at the same time, help Afghanistan develop its economy, improve people’s livelihood, and safeguard human rights, so as to eliminate the breeding ground for terrorism. On counter-terrorism, we must oppose linking terrorism with specific countries or religions, reject double standards, selective approaches, and the manipulation of counter-terrorism in the pursuit of geostrategic objectives, and bear firmly in mind the bigger picture of international counter-terrorism cooperation. 

President, 

Under the leadership of SRSG Otunbayeva, UNAMA has maintained good communication with the interim government and has coordinated efforts to help the country meet its multiple challenges, for which China expresses its appreciation. We support UNAMA in continuing to play its bridging role, continuously enhancing exchanges and cooperation with the interim government, and playing a greater role in promoting peace and development in Afghanistan. 

President, 

In May this year, foreign ministers of China, Afghanistan, and Pakistan held an informal meeting in Beijing, jointly sending out a strong message on enhancing political mutual trust, upholding good neighborliness and friendship, deepening practical cooperation, combating terrorism, and maintaining regional peace and stability. China welcomes the recent announcement of the Government of Pakistan and the interim government of Afghanistan to upgrade their relationship to ambassadorial level, which is an important step in the implementation of the outcome of the tripartite informal meeting. The second China-Central Asia Summit held recently also proposed joining hands to help the Afghan people maintain peace and stability and promote development and prosperity. We will continue to make greater efforts and play a greater role in promoting the realization of lasting peace and stability in the country and its early integration into the international community. 

Thank you, President.