China calls on UN Security Council to adjust Afghanistan sanctions

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Thursday called on the Security Council to make necessary adjustments to the Afghanistan sanctions regime in light of the situation on the ground.

Geng Shuang, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, made the appeal in an explanation of vote after the Security Council adopted a resolution to renew the mandate of the monitoring team that supports the Afghanistan Sanctions Committee.

Afghanistan is at a critical stage of peaceful reconstruction. The international community needs to maintain its attention and commitment, strengthen constructive engagement with the Afghan authorities in order to help Afghanistan emerge from its humanitarian plight, improve its economy and livelihood, regain development momentum, improve human rights protection, and reintegrate into the family of nations, said Geng.

Terrorist threats in Afghanistan remain serious. The international community should maintain a high degree of vigilance, adhere to solidarity and cooperation, abandon double standards, and help Afghanistan effectively combat all kinds of terrorist forces, and resolutely prevent Afghanistan from, once again, becoming a hub for terrorist organizations, he said.

China has always advocated for direct contact between the monitoring team and the Afghan authorities and the establishment of effective channels of communication. China appreciates the inclusion of language in the resolution that encourages the team to visit Afghanistan and to communicate with all Afghan parties. China hopes that the team's visit will take place smoothly as soon as possible, said Geng.

"As stated in the preamble of the resolution, the Security Council should ensure that the sanctions regime effectively promotes peace and stability in Afghanistan, and should make necessary adjustments in light of the situation on the ground," he said. "In light of the current situation, China believes that the council should make timely adjustments to the sanctions in order to facilitate pragmatic engagement between the international community and Afghanistan and to avoid negative impacts on the livelihood of Afghan people and the country's development."

As a first step, the Security Council should resume as soon as possible travel exemptions for some officials of the Afghan Taliban. China has always maintained that the travel exemptions are a necessary tool that facilitates dialogue and engagement and that they should not be taken as a bargaining chip for pressure, said Geng.

China has put forward specific proposals in this regard, which, regrettably, were not reflected in the draft resolution. China hopes the members of the council will maintain communication on this issue, demonstrate pragmatism and flexibility and strive as soon as possible for a solution that addresses the concerns of all parties so as to support the next phase of dialogue and engagement with the Afghan authorities, he said.