23 October 2024
President,
I thank Special Envoy Geir Pedersen and Director Edem Wosornu for their briefings. I have also carefully listened to the statements from the two representatives of the civil society. I would like to make three comments.
First, with the conflict in Gaza being protracted and the situation between Lebanon and Israel deteriorating, the international community must work together to prevent the conflict from spreading to Syria. China strongly condemns Israel’s frequent airstrikes in Syria and calls on Israel to immediately stop such attacks. We call on all parties concerned to respect in earnest Syria’s sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity, and make concrete efforts to maintain stability in regional countries, Syria included. Foreign forces must end their illegal military presence in Syria.
Second, it is reported that HTS, Daesh, and other terrorist forces have recently intensified their activities in Syria. China is gravely concerned. China firmly supports the Syrian Government in taking the necessary counter-terrorism measures. We call on the international community to abide by the international law and the Council resolutions, take uniform standard, and work together with zero tolerance to fight against terrorist forces in Syria and prevent them from exploiting the current situation and adding more destabilizing factors to an already volatile situation.
Third, as a result of the recent situation between Lebanon and Israel, there has been a massive inflow of refugees into Syria. China commends the Syrian Government for their positive actions to host the refugees. We welcome UNHCR’s issuance of emergency humanitarian appeal, and hope to see synergy from the international community in jointly addressing the situation. I wish to stress that the improvement in Syria’s economic and social resilience will fundamentally help improve the country’s humanitarian situation. We look forward to the early release by the UN of the early recovery strategy for Syria, with a view to supporting early recovery projects across the country. Unilateral sanctions seriously impede the efforts in improving the humanitarian situation in Syria, and should be lifted immediately.
In conclusion, I wish to reiterate that a political settlement is the only path for the question of Syria. China welcomes the dialogue and consultations among all parties in Syria to enhance mutual trust. We support Special Envoy Pedersen to continue to work with all parties under the Syrian-led and Syrian-owned principle. We hope that the existing dialogue mechanisms will complement each other and, on the basis of full communication and consultation with the Syrian Government, form synergy and facilitate a political settlement.
Thank you, President.