President, 

I thank Special Representative Carlos Ruiz Massieu for his briefing. I welcome the presence of the representatives of Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Belize at today's meeting. 

At present, Haiti remains mired in multi-dimensional crises, facing a difficult political process, a complex security situation, and a worsening humanitarian crisis. China is deeply concerned about this situation and expresses profound sympathy for the plight of the Haitian people. To resolve Haiti’s crises requires drawing on past lessons, addressing root causes, taking a holistic approach, and the Haitian authorities, regional countries, and the international community synergizing their efforts, all of which are especially crucial under the current circumstances. I wish to emphasize the following four points. 

First, advancing the political process with the utmost urgency. As the Secretary-General’s report points out, with only three months remaining in Haiti’s current political transition, the authorities have yet to announce an electoral timetable, and the parties have significant disagreements regarding upcoming arrangements. Advancing a Haitian-led and Haitian-owned political process cannot just be a slogan, nor can it be delayed indefinitely. We call on all Haitian parties and factions to strengthen unity, shoulder responsibility, and build consensus, so as to achieve substantive progress in the political process as soon as possible and create conditions for establishing a legitimate government, enhancing governance capacity, and addressing Haiti’s chaotic situation. We support BINUH and regional organizations such as CARICOM in continuing to actively provide assistance. 

Second, implementing sanctions measures with the most stringent standards. The Council’s sanctions regime is a key measure to combat violence and crime in Haiti. China welcomes the adoption of Council Resolution 2794 extending the mandate of the sanctions regime on Haiti. As indicated by the latest UN statistics, three years after the Council imposed the arms embargo on Haiti, as many as 500,000 illegal weapons remain in circulation within the country. As was shown the reports of UNODC and the panel of experts under the sanctions committee, trafficking of weapons and ammunition originating from the United States is continuing with mounting risks of illegal arms proliferation and transfer. We urge all parties, especially the main country of origin for arms and ammunition in Haiti, to take concrete steps to enforce the arms embargo and tighten arms regulation, thereby cutting off the flow of illicit arms and ammunition into Haiti at its source. The sanctions committee and the panel of experts should step up their monitoring of these efforts. 

Third, strengthening security governance in a responsible manner. It pains our hearts to see the continued suffering of the Haitian people caused by gang violence. We hope that the Haitian authorities will assume primary responsibility for maintaining security. The Secretary-General’s report expresses grave concerns over civilian casualties resulting from security operations in Haiti. We hope that the Haitian authorities and relevant parties will effectively enhance the protection of civilians, particularly vulnerable groups like women and children. The international community, in providing security support, should fully respect Haiti’s sovereignty and strictly comply with international law. Relevant countries should commit accountability to the Haitian people, the Security Council, and the international community by updating the Council on the progress in the formation and deployment of the GSF in a timely manner. The Council should closely follow and rigorously monitor these updates, and in light of the developments on the ground, take necessary and timely actions. 

Fourth, making united efforts to address the crisis in the development of people’s livelihoods. Haiti faces a declining economy, a worsening food crisis, large numbers of displaced people, and severe shortages in basic services such as education and health care. The humanitarian and development crises not only severely disrupt ordinary people’s lives and livelihoods, but also exacerbate the vicious cycle of poverty and violence. China supports ECOSOC, the Peacebuilding Commission, and the UN development and humanitarian agencies in continuing their efforts and calls on international financial institutions, the OAS, and others to commit more resources to jointly assist Haiti in promoting development, improving people's livelihoods, and eliminating the breeding ground of violence. We urge the Haitian authorities to strengthen cooperation with the international community to transform external assistance into internal forces that power Haiti's self-driven development, achieving a fundamental shift from aid dependency to self-reliance. 

President, 

The key to resolving Haiti's problems ultimately lies in the hands of the Haitian people. Together with the international community, China stands ready to support the Haitian people in finding the right path out of its crises at an early date. 

Thank you, President.