Delegates vote on the draft resolution at a Security Council meeting at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on December 14, 2023. (Loey Felipe United Nations** Handout provided by Xinhua News Agency).
The United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2716 on the 14th, deciding to extend the mandate of the Monitoring Team of the Afghan Taliban Sanctions Committee for 12 months. In his explanation of vote after the vote, Geng Shuang, Deputy Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations, pointed out that the Security Council should adjust the sanctions in a timely manner to facilitate the international community's pragmatic engagement with Afghanistan and avoid negative impacts on the livelihood and development of the Afghan people.
Geng Shuang said: Afghanistan is at a critical stage of peace reconstruction. The international community needs to maintain its attention and investment, strengthen constructive engagement with the Afghan authorities, and help Afghanistan get out of the humanitarian predicament, improve the economy and people's livelihood, regain its vitality, enhance the protection of human rights, and integrate into the international community. The current situation of the terrorist threat in Afghanistan remains serious. The international community should remain highly vigilant, adhere to solidarity and cooperation, abandon double standards, help Afghanistan effectively combat all kinds of terrorist forces, and resolutely prevent Afghanistan from becoming a hub for terrorist organizations again. On the basis of the above considerations, China supported the extension of the mandate of the Monitoring Team and voted in favour of the vote. China has always maintained that the Monitoring Group should be in direct contact with the Afghan authorities and establish effective channels of communication. China appreciates the inclusion in the resolution of encouraging the Monitoring Team to visit Afghanistan and to communicate with all parties in Afghanistan, and hopes that the visit will be carried out smoothly as soon as possible.
Geng Shuang said: As stated in the preamble paragraph of the resolution, the Security Council should ensure that the sanctions regime effectively promotes peace and stability in Afghanistan and make necessary adjustments in light of the situation on the ground. A similar observation was made by the Independent Assessment of the Situation in Afghanistan. In view of the current situation, China believes that the Security Council should adjust the sanctions in a timely manner to facilitate the international community's pragmatic engagement with Afghanistan and avoid negative impacts on the livelihood and development of the Afghan people. As a first step, and taking into account past practice and the practice of the parties, the Council should consider reinstating the travel exemption for some Afghan Taliban** as soon as possible. China has always maintained that the travel exemption is a necessary tool to facilitate dialogue and engagement, and should not be used as a bargaining chip. China made specific proposals during the consultations on the draft resolution, but regretted that they could not be reflected in the draft resolution. China hopes that the members of the Security Council will maintain communication on this issue, show a pragmatic and flexible attitude, strive to find a solution that satisfies the concerns of all parties as soon as possible, and provide strong support for the next stage of dialogue and engagement with the Afghan authorities.
*:Xinhua.