United Nations, New York – China has called for urgent international assistance to address Afghanistan’s humanitarian and development crises. The appeal came from Geng Shuang, China’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, during an open debate on Afghanistan at the UN Security Council on Wednesday.
Geng noted that while Afghanistan remains “generally stable,” the country continues to face serious challenges in areas such as humanitarian relief, development, human rights, and counterterrorism. He stressed that the international community should adopt an objective, fair, rational, and pragmatic approach, and work together to help Afghanistan return to the right track as soon as possible.
Acknowledging that Afghanistan’s reintegration into the international community can only proceed gradually due to historical and practical reasons, Geng said there is a lack of communication and dialogue between both sides. He criticized the actions of a certain country that recently rejected multiple requests to lift travel bans on Afghan officials, citing the detention of its own nationals in Afghanistan. Such moves, he argued, seriously obstruct normal exchanges between Afghanistan and the international community.
He further condemned the use of UN Security Council sanctions as a tool for safeguarding national interests, which has caused discontent within the Council. China urged the country in question to immediately cease such practices and called on the UN Sanctions Committee on Afghanistan to revisit discussions on granting travel ban exemptions for Afghan officials.
Source: Shishir-Touhid-Xuewei, China Media Group