YouSaid · the spoken record

Zhang Jun

lines on the record: 2,260
first: 2019-08-02
most recent: 2023-12-19
sittings or episodes: 311
sources: un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“Over the past decade, China has, with a responsible attitude, matched its commitments with actions, cutting carbon dioxide emissions per unit of gross domestic product by 34.4 per cent, building the world’s largest carbon market and vigorously carrying out reforestation and sand control projects. Our achievements in the field of ecological improvement and environmental protection have impressed the entire world. China is an active player in South-South cooperation on climate change, providing support and assistance to other developing countries, especially small island States, least developed countries and African countries, so they can better address climate change. Our efforts are applauded and lauded by the majority of developing countries.”
2023-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9345 (2023) · source
“The Council should listen to the voices of the people in the affected countries, take the climate and security risks posed by green protectionism and illegal unilateral sanctions very seriously and have the courage to take targeted measures to uphold equity and justice. Those points illustrate the direction in which the Council should engage in climate change-related issues. The ecological environment is the foundation of human survival and development. China upholds its green development vision, expressed as “limpid waters and forested mountains are the real treasure troves”, and remains firmly on the path towards modernization with Chinese characteristics, with harmonious coexistence between human beings and nature.”
2023-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9345 (2023) · source
“If the Council is to do its job properly, it must firmly reject such behaviour and practices. Green protectionism is becoming a ball and chain that shackles developing countries and keeps them at the bottom of the global value chain. Another ball and chain that hamstrings the ability of developing countries to achieve development and maintain stability is none other than illegal unilateral sanctions. Many countries on the receiving end of such sanctions have a very hard time obtaining even the most basic means of livelihood and production, let alone improving their capacity to address climate change.”
2023-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9345 (2023) · source
“Under the pretext of promoting their own energy transitions, certain countries have invested hundreds of billions of dollars in hefty subsidies for their manufacturing industries through various unfair bills and administrative initiatives, while setting up major trade barriers against the green industries of other countries and blocking developing countries’ access to green technologies. Those acts are a blatant violation of World Trade Organization rules, as they disrupt global green industrial and supply chains, undermine countries’ efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and run counter to the international community’s collective efforts to address climate change. Those acts have also made certain countries’ bombastic slogans sound hollow, anaemic and hypocritical.”
2023-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9345 (2023) · source
“In order for the Council to play its role, it should pronounce itself strongly in those areas as well. At the same time, the Security Council should stake out its role in that regard through tangible action. As a first step, the Council could consider authorizing its field missions in those countries more heavily affected by climate change and its larger missions to collect information on the host country’s annual receipts of climate financing from developed countries and to inform the Council on a regular basis. It goes without saying that the missions themselves should become benchmarks or, indeed, role models for energy conservation and emissions reduction by doing their part for the climate actions of host countries. Thirdly, green protectionism in developed countries is something we must watch out for.”
2023-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9345 (2023) · source
“Secondly, the lack of financing is the biggest bottleneck for global climate governance. Developed countries are in huge arrears on climate financing. The annual shortfall of $100 billion must be made up as soon as possible, and a new quantified collective goal for the post-2025 period set. The twenty-seventh Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC, held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, last year, established the loss and damage fund. Developing countries are eagerly awaiting the fund’s early operationalization. The relevant United Nations agencies should do their part to promote the implementation of the fund, including the creation of a mechanism to monitor the implementation of climate financing and to encourage developed countries to genuinely translate political commitments into concrete actions.”
2023-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9345 (2023) · source
“Unfortunately, since last year, there has been a reversal in the energy policies of some developed countries. Their fossil energy consumption and carbon emissions have increased, not decreased. Those developments are disconcerting. The Security Council should play its role and watch those developments very closely. They also raise a question: if climate change is deemed a potential security threat, does it not follow that negative regressive behaviour in the fulfilment of emissions reduction obligations, including unilateral withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, also constitutes a threat to international peace and security? Can the Council take enforcement measures under the authority of the Charter of the United Nations to redress such negative actions? That calls for and warrants some in-depth contemplation.”
2023-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9345 (2023) · source
“In that regard, the Security Council should not become a salon for idle talk, interested only in political correctness. It should be grounded on terra firma and guided by its mandate, making bona fide efforts to help developing countries in a tangible way to address security risks. First, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement are the most important guiding instruments for addressing climate change. The basic consensus enshrined in the Convention is that developed countries have a historical responsibility to shoulder when it comes to global climate change. It stands to reason that they take the lead in significantly reducing emissions and achieving net-zero or even negative carbon emissions sooner.”
2023-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9345 (2023) · source
“Merely bringing the climate change perspective to the Council’s work while ignoring those underlying problems will not point us towards the right solutions or produce the desired results. It is also worth considering why the socioeconomic consequences of climate extremes in North America are different from those in the Pacific Islands. It is no secret that there are vast differences between the abilities of various countries to address climate change. Behind and beneath that disparity are major differences in their levels of development. The most conclusive way to stop climate change from becoming a security risk is therefore to take the development approach. That means helping developing countries to bridge the development divide and to enhance their climate resilience and response capacity.”
2023-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9345 (2023) · source
“We should be problem-oriented, identify the root causes of security risks and develop practical solutions that actually work. Haiti’s recent floods have exacerbated the country’s pre-existing humanitarian woes. There is some connection with climate, but Haiti’s underlying challenges, particularly gang violence and political corruption, have not changed. Iraq is dogged by ecological problems such as water scarcity, drought and desertification, and while of course that has a connection to climate change, Iraq’s main challenge is dealing with the dire consequences of foreign invasion. Years of war and hostilities, including the use of depleted-uranium munitions by external forces, have led to the irreparable degradation of Iraq’s ecosystems, and explosive remnants of war have rendered large areas of land unusable.”
2023-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9345 (2023) · source
“On the other hand, when examined from a broader perspective, the connection between climate change and security risks is very complex, and the precise link between the two is not yet fully understood. Just as it is not scientific to deny the existence of a relationship between climate and security, I venture to say that it is equally unscientific to make generalizations about the security implications of climate change by taking the issue out of a specific context. What matters here is doing the right thing with the right approach. That being the case, we are of the view that the Security Council should analyse the dynamics between climate and security by putting the issue in context while taking into account the Council’s own mandate and existing agendas and the resources and means available to it, as well as country-specific situations.”
2023-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9345 (2023) · source
“China supports the important role of the United Nations in addressing climate change and fully supports the United Arab Emirates as host of the twenty-eighth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28). We believe the upcoming COP28 will produce major positive outcomes with its President, Sultan Al Jaber, at the helm. The linkages between climate and security have been discussed at many meetings of the Council. It is clear that opinion remains divided and further in-depth discussions are needed. On the one hand, in developing countries that lack climate resilience we are seeing a high incidence of extreme weather events and natural disasters that decimate development gains, exacerbate resource shortages and trigger intercommunal and inter-ethnic clashes.”
2023-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9345 (2023) · source
“China supports the international community’s endeavours in a number of areas — upholding the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as the main forum for deliberations on climate issues; adhering to the principles of common but differentiated responsibilities, equity and respective capacities; strengthening policy coordination; increasing support for developing countries in terms of financing, technology and capacity-building; fully and effectively implementing the UNFCCC and its Paris Climate Agreement and continuing to make new headway in global climate governance.”
2023-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9345 (2023) · source
“Mr. Zhang Jun (China) (spoke in Chinese): China welcomes you, Madam President, to the Security Council to preside over our meeting. We also thank Under-Secretary-General Jean-Pierre Lacroix, His Excellency Mr. Juan Manuel Santos Calderón and Ms. Salma Kadry for their briefings. The challenges posed by climate change to human life and to the development of all countries are being felt ever more acutely. It is all the more urgent and imperative for the international community to unite and work together to address climate change.”
2023-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9345 (2023) · source
“We are committed to making positive contributions to the lasting peace, unity, universal security and common prosperity of the Middle Eastern region.”
2023-06-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9343 (2023) · source
“At the end of last year, President Xi Jinping attended the inaugural China-Arab States summit and the first the China-Gulf Cooperation Council summit where he held bilateral meetings with leaders from approximately 20 Arab countries. Both China and Arab countries have issued documents, including the Riyadh declaration of the inaugural China-Arab States summit, which consolidated the strategic consensus on the development of bilateral relations on major regional and international issues. Cooperation between the two sides in such areas as the Belt and Road Initiative, energy, food, investment and green development has further deepened. We will continue to stand together with Arab countries, weather the storm together and promote the deepening and solidification of China and Arab relationship with a shared future for the new era.”
2023-06-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9343 (2023) · source
“We hope that all parties will prioritize the interests of the Yemeni people, intensify dialogue and consultations, set reasonable expectations, demonstrate appropriate flexibility and expedite visible progress in the political process in the country. The friendship between China and Arab countries has withstood the test of time. We have stood together in national liberation struggles, achieved win-win cooperation in the wave of global economic globalization, and upheld principle and righteousness amid the ups and downs in international affairs. From this has grown a spirit of mutual assistance, equality, shared benefit and cultural exchange between China and the Arab nations.”
2023-06-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9343 (2023) · source
“We hope that the relevant parties will seize this opportunity, strengthen dialogue, actively cooperate with the efforts of United Nations Special Envoy Pedersen, gradually build mutual trust and promote speedy progress in the political process in order to achieve a comprehensive solution to the Syrian issue at an early date. The political process in Yemen is maintaining its positive momentum, and all parties have remained in close communication regarding the resumption of a ceasefire, demonstrating prospects for a political and negotiated resolution of the conflict. We appreciate the proactive efforts made by countries of the region, including Saudi Arabia and Oman, to alleviate the situation in Yemen and achieve a permanent ceasefire.”
2023-06-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9343 (2023) · source
“China appreciates the Arab League and its members for their just position on the Palestinian issue and supports their continued leadership role in addressing the Palestinian issue. The United Nations and the Security Council should strengthen coordination with the Arab League, on the basis of all relevant United Nations resolutions, the Arab Peace Initiative and other international consensus. We must promote the two-State solution with a greater sense of urgency and more robust measures in order to help the Palestinian people realize their dream of an independent State as soon as possible. Syria’s return to the Arab League is not only a new driving force for Arab unity and its self-sufficiency, but also a new opportunity for a political solution to the Syrian crisis.”
2023-06-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9343 (2023) · source
“The relevant envoys and the special representatives of the Secretary-General should strengthen communication and coordination with the Arab League in order to form a united front and enhance synergy. The Security Council should listen more to the views of the Arab League and the countries of the region and support regional solutions to regional disputes. The Palestinian issue has always been at the core of the Middle Eastern issue. The recurring tensions between Palestine and Israel clearly demonstrate that the long-standing stalemate in the peace process is unsustainable. Piecemeal crisis management is difficult to sustain, and a comprehensive and just solution is irreplaceable.”
2023-06-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9343 (2023) · source
“The international community should respond to the trend by playing a constructive role in supporting the efforts of Arab countries to independently explore development paths that are in line with their national conditions and determine their own future. All parties should support the Arab League’s efforts to play a greater role in regional and international affairs, thereby leading the Arab world to bolster strategic independence, jointly forge peace and stability, accelerate development and revitalization and achieve unity and self-sufficiency. The United Nations should further deepen cooperation with the Arab League, in accordance with the spirit of Chapter VIII of the Charter of the United Nations.”
2023-06-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9343 (2023) · source
“Saudi Arabia and Iran announced the restoration of diplomatic relations through the Beijing dialogue, giving rise to a wave of reconciliation in the Middle East. A historic easing of relations has been achieved among multiple countries, and several regional hot-button issues have seen positive progress. After a 12-year hiatus, Syria has returned to the League of Arab States, thereby making the Arab League family whole once again. Those examples fully demonstrates that breaking away from bloc confrontation, easing tension and seeking peaceful development are the popular aspirations and calls of the countries and peoples in the region. China appreciates the Arab League and the countries of the region for their unremitting efforts in that regard.”
2023-06-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9343 (2023) · source
“Mr. Zhang Jun (China) (spoke in Chinese): I thank the United Arab Emirates for the initiative of convening this meeting and welcome His Excellency Mr. Khalifa Shaheen Almarar, Minister of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, to preside over this meeting in New York. I also thank Under-Secretary-General DiCarlo, Secretary-General Aboul Gheit and Ms. El Omrani for their briefings. I welcome the participation in this meeting of the Permanent Representative of Egypt, who spoke on behalf of the Group of Arab States. Recently, the Middle East has seen a series of positive changes, with unity, cooperation, dialogue and reconciliation gaining strong momentum. That has injected new hope and positive energy into the world, which has been mired in turmoil.”
2023-06-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9343 (2023) · source
“The international community should spare no effort with a greater sense of urgency to create favourable conditions for promoting dialogue and negotiations and restoring peace. No party, especially countries with important influence, should fuel the fire and escalate tensions, much less try to profit from expanded crises to advance their own strategic agenda. China will continue to stand on the side of peace and, alongside concerned partners, make unremitting efforts to promote peace talks and achieve a political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis.”
2023-06-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9340 (2023) · source
“China reiterates that, in the event of a nuclear disaster, no one is immune. We call for maximum restraint and to refrain from words and deeds that could escalate confrontation and lead to miscalculation, as well as for maintaining the safety and security of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant. China is concerned about the protraction or even further escalation of the crisis in Ukraine. What has just happened reminds us once again that anything can happen in a conflict situation. As long as the flames of war rage on, it will only bring about greater suffering and more disasters, creating more grave and unpredictable risks. The parties concerned should submit to good sense, exercise restraint and resume peace talks as soon as possible.”
2023-06-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9340 (2023) · source
“A great number of people are in urgent need of evacuation, and tens of thousands more people may face difficulties in accessing drinking water. We support the active efforts by the United Nations and humanitarian agencies to assist to the best of their abilities in the evacuation of the affected population, followed by further assistance. The Kakhovka reservoir is also a major source of cooling water for the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant. We note that the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency has confirmed that the incident has not yet posed any safety risk to the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant. However, the water in the reservoir continues to recede, and it may not be possible to continue pumping water to the nuclear power plant in the future.”
2023-06-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9340 (2023) · source
“Mr. Zhang Jun (China) (spoke in Chinese): I would like to start by thanking you, Mr. President, for convening this emergency meeting. I also thank Under- Secretary-General Martin Griffiths for his briefing. The protection of civilians and critical civilian infrastructure in armed conflict is an important principle enshrined in international humanitarian law. We express our grave concern about the destruction of the dam at the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant. We are deeply concerned about the resulting humanitarian, economic and ecological consequences. We call on all the parties to the conflict to abide by international humanitarian law and to do their utmost to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure. The collapse of the dam has caused major flooding.”
2023-06-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9340 (2023) · source
“We support decisive and necessary streamlining and optimization of some United Nations peacekeeping operations. The resources saved could be used to better support AU peace support operations. China firmly supports Africa in improving its own peace-support capacity and favours the provision of adequate, predictable and sustainable funding support to AU peace support operations. We expect the Security Council to take this meeting as an opportunity to stay pragmatic and results-oriented and work for early and substantive progress on the relevant issues.”
2023-05-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9329 (2023) · source
“Any of the four should not be too readily discarded. The key is, which one can enjoy an early consensus and maximize benefits for Africa? Once political decisions are made, procedural formalities should be minimized so that the AU — and not the United Nations — will be responsible for managing the details of budgeting and implementation. Fifthly, at present, multiple United Nations peacekeeping operations in Africa are faced with complex challenges, making it important to make timely strategic assessments and mandate adjustments, including the formulation of exit strategies. The funding of AU peace support operations should be considered in conjunction with the reform of United Nations peacekeeping operations and in a holistic manner.”
2023-05-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9329 (2023) · source
“Developed countries, which are the traditional financial contributors, must not reduce their funding support for Africa as a result of this and must refrain from simply submitting contributions already intended for Africa to the United Nations with a changed name so as to shirk their historic responsibility towards Africa. If the total external funding ultimately available to AU peace support operations does not increase but only declines, such an outcome, I am afraid, will be completely contrary to the intended purpose of the reform. Fourthly, Africa faces a wide variety of security challenges, and the future AU-led peace support operations are not all identical in their modes. There should therefore not be a one-size-fits-all funding solution. The latest report by the Secretary-General (S/2023/303) put forward four options.”
2023-05-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9329 (2023) · source
“Some countries’ forces stationed overseas and some United Nations peacekeeping forces have had problems in conduct and discipline. It is not acceptable to presume the existence of human rights protection issues at the mere mention of AU peace support operations. This is a form of bias. We cannot dismiss the whole of AU peace support operations and their important contributions simply because of previous isolated cases of human rights violations or out of worries with regard to possible future isolated cases. Most importantly, human rights accountability provisions must not be used as a pretext to indefinitely delay the discussion of funding options and defer decisions thereon. Thirdly, support from United Nations assessed contributions should be a complement to the existing funding modes of the AU.”
2023-05-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9329 (2023) · source
“Since they are AU-led, AU peace support operations should be fully African-led and African- owned throughout the whole process of planning, mandating, deployment and management. After taking United Nations funding support, AU peace support operations will remain operations of the AU. It is a question of resolving funding issues, not turning AU forces into United Nations peacekeeping forces. Secondly, the protection of human rights is part of the mandates of AU peace support operations, but it should be put in the right place. African countries have already made considerable efforts to strengthen capacity-building of their forces and raise awareness of human rights protection. These efforts cannot be denied. Meanwhile, nobody has a perfect human rights record.”
2023-05-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9329 (2023) · source
“African countries’ aspirations in this regard are legitimate and reasonable and merit the great attention and active support of the international community. Since 2007, the Security Council has deliberated on the funding of AU peace support operations on multiple occasions. While some initial consensus has been reached, numerous differences still exist. Last August, during its presidency of the Security Council, China facilitated the adoption of a presidential statement (S/PRST/2022/6) on capacity-building for Africa, requesting the Secretary-General to submit a report for all parties to refocus on this key issue. In this context, I wish to stress the following points. First, when addressing the funding of AU peace support operations, the fundamental principle of “African solutions for African problems” should be applied.”
2023-05-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9329 (2023) · source
“On the occasion of the seventy-fifth anniversary of United Nations peacekeeping operations, I pay the highest tribute to those peacekeepers who have made the ultimate sacrifice for the cause of peace. At the same time, we must recognize that some parts of Africa are still witnessing conflict and turmoil. Terrorism and transnational crime are still rampant, and they have caused deep suffering to the African people. AU peace support operations are now more urgent, with more daunting tasks, more pronounced funding problems and other challenges. In February this year, the AU summit adopted a consensus paper stressing the need to provide AU peace support operations with adequate, predictable and sustainable funding and calling for support from the United Nations.”
2023-05-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9329 (2023) · source
“Mr. Zhang Jun (China) (spoke in Chinese): China welcomes you, Ms. Amherd, as you preside over today’s meeting. I also thank Under-Secretary-General DiCarlo and Commissioner Adeoye for their briefings. I also listened attentively to the statement of the other briefer. Today is Africa Day. I would like to begin by extending my warm congratulations to all our African colleagues and brothers and sisters in Africa. On this day of celebration of African independence and unity, it is of special significance for the Security Council to discuss the topic of African Union (AU)-led peace support operations. For many years, the AU and subregional organizations in Africa have organized and carried out peace support operations. They have made enormous efforts to maintain stability and silence the guns in Africa, and they have made huge sacrifices.”
2023-05-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9329 (2023) · source
“We take a dual approach of both transferring and generating sustenance by providing support in terms of farming technology, grain storage and processing infrastructures, and along with technologies related to innovations such as hybrid rice and Juncao technology that can help developing countries enhance their overall capabilities in terms of food production, supply and security. China will continue to work with other countries around the world to implement China’s global development initiative and deepen our cooperation in terms of food security and poverty reduction to build a world free from war, conflict, hunger and poverty.”
2023-05-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9327 (2023) · source
“Climate change has become a major factor in declining food production. The United Nations should play its role as a main coordinator for promoting and deepening international action on climate governance. The developed countries should honour their commitments and historical responsibility and fulfil their financial obligations with regard to addressing climate change and helping developing countries enhance their resilience in terms of climate change and food security. China has been a long-standing promoter of and contributor to international food security. In recent years we have provided emergency food aid to more than 50 countries to alleviate the urgent needs of millions of people.”
2023-05-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9327 (2023) · source
“The Security Council should take a balanced approach to security and development and pay particular attention to the agricultural, rural and farming-related issues of countries that are in the process of peacebuilding, as well as help them strengthen their capacity-building in order to resolve their food crises at their source. The international food and agriculture institutions, United Nations development agencies and international financial institutions should leverage their respective advantages, mobilize broad international resources and deepen international cooperation so as to provide more support to post-conflict and developing countries in terms of financing, technology, training and management to help them to develop agriculture with their own characteristics based on their own conditions and create a diversified supply chain.”
2023-05-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9327 (2023) · source
“Developed countries’ agricultural subsidy policies have severely distorted the international market for agricultural products and have acted as a disincentive for farmers in developing countries. We call on the relevant countries to change their subsidy policies in order to reduce their impact on the markets for developing countries’ agricultural products. Major international food companies should also honour their social responsibilities by reducing their monopolistic control of agricultural resources, including seeds and the pricing of agricultural products. When it comes to supporting and helping developing countries, what matters is not who has the loudest slogans but who has taken more concrete actions. Fifthly, we should strengthen international coordination to create synergies.”
2023-05-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9327 (2023) · source
“Fourthly, we should create conditions that support developing countries in solving their food problems. Many developing countries have rich agricultural resources and therefore all the potential they need to feed themselves. However, as long-standing victims of colonialism, they are plagued by a single-structure economy that has locked them into the very bottom of the international industrial chain, leaving them lacking the resources and conditions they need to be self-reliant and achieve food self-sufficiency. We must therefore promote the establishment of a more equitable and reasonable international economic order and provide more financial and technical support to developing countries to help them achieve agricultural transformation based on their individual situations, in order to improve their food security.”
2023-05-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9327 (2023) · source
“We urge the relevant countries in designing their monetary policies to give serious attention to their spillover effects and greater consideration to the interests of developing countries and to how their policies are received in order to prevent artificial distortions and abnormal fluctuations in food prices. We also firmly reject any weaponizing of economic interdependence, as well as engaging in unilateral sanctions and decoupling and disrupting international supply chains with the aim of harming countries’ enterprises and attacking their infrastructure. Such actions not only endanger the security and stability of food markets but also violate international law, making the world more uncertain and less stable and plunging it into greater division and turmoil.”
2023-05-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9327 (2023) · source
“We support a balanced, comprehensive and effective implementation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative and the memorandum of understanding on the export of Russian food products and fertilizer. We support the United Nations in playing a major role in that regard in order to remove the obstacles that Russia is facing in terms of its food and fertilizer exports. We should point out that as a major international staple commodity, food has been highly financialized and monetized. The main driver of the current round of massive hikes in food prices has been various countries’ adoption in recent years of extraordinary quantitative-easing monetary policies.”
2023-05-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9327 (2023) · source
“The United States has for years imposed a freeze on Afghanistan’s overseas assets, which has exacerbated the humanitarian crisis in the country. We urge the United States to listen to the urgent pleas of the Afghan people and the international community for the assets to be returned to the people as soon as possible so that they can be used to help overcome the country’s humanitarian challenges, including its food shortages. Thirdly, we must maintain the overall stability of the supply chain and international food prices. The renewal of the Black Sea Grain Initiative in the past few days will help to assure the continued flow of international food supplies, and China therefore welcomes that development. We commend Secretary- General Guterres and the relevant parties for their unremitting efforts to make that happen.”
2023-05-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9327 (2023) · source
“Secondly, we must increase emergency assistance. Food crises result from a complex combination of interwoven factors. Our priority must be to take effective measures to meet the urgent needs that some countries are facing. We call on traditional donors to step up their assistance and provide additional emergency humanitarian assistance in the form of food and financing to countries in need. Assistance should not be seen as a lever for political gain. No conditions should be attached to it and there should never be any selectivity in the context of assistance. The requirements for all countries receiving humanitarian aid should be treated equally. The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan also demands our attention.”
2023-05-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9327 (2023) · source
“We call on parties to conflicts to abide by resolution 2417 (2018) and 2573 (2021), effectively fulfil their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law, to protect civilians, prioritize the needs of vulnerable groups, including women and children, and ensure safe and unimpeded access to humanitarian assistance. All countries should abide by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, promote cooperation and reject confrontation in order to create an environment conducive to peace. It is vital to persevere in resolving disputes through peaceful means, including dialogue, negotiation and mediation, and to help countries in conflict achieve peace and stability without delay in order to create the conditions necessary for protecting civilians and ensuring food security.”
2023-05-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9327 (2023) · source
“According to the most recent Global Report on Food Crises, about 250 million people are currently food insecure, while two thirds of those in acute food-insecure situations live in areas affected by conflict. Food is of primary importance in sustaining life, and food security relates to the very basic human right to life. The Security Council and the international community should therefore pay the greatest possible attention to the issue and take concerted action to find an integrated solution. First, we must strive to achieve political settlements of hotspot issues. As long as conflicts persist, we cannot realistically talk about civilian safety and security, and hunger and poverty will be difficult to eradicate.”
2023-05-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9327 (2023) · source
“Mr. Zhang Jun (China) (spoke in Chinese): I welcome the participation of His Excellency Mr. Alain Berset, President of the Swiss Confederation, in today’s meeting. I would like to thank Secretary-General Guterres and President Spoljaric Egger for their briefings. I also listened carefully to the briefing by Ms. Mounkaïla. China has stated its position on the protection of civilians in armed conflict on many occasions in the Security Council. We appeal strongly to all parties to conflicts to adhere strictly to international law, including international humanitarian law, and to fulfil their obligations to protect civilians. I will focus today on the issue of food security. Civilians are the main victims of armed conflict. Food crises exacerbate humanitarian situations and the plight of civilians.”
2023-05-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9327 (2023) · source
“All parties should create the conditions necessary to advance dialogue and negotiation, instead of adding fuel to the fire and escalating tensions in an attempt to profit from them. With regard to the issue of Ukraine, China has always been a proponent of peace. All our efforts are directed towards promoting peace talks. Special Representative of the Chinese Government on Eurasian Affairs Li Hui left today to visit Ukraine, Poland, France, Germany and Russia in order to engage with all parties in order to reach a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis. We stand ready to work with the international community in its continued and tireless efforts towards achieving a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis.”
2023-05-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9321 (2023) · source
“Unilateral sanctions have no basis in international law and are eliciting pushback from a growing number of countries. We must point out that in the same way, the so-called rules-based international order is highly problematic in terms of its legal and practical ramifications. It whould not be used by the United States or other relevant countries as pretexts to abuse unilateral sanctions, nor does it enjoy the broad support or approval of the international community. Fourthly, it is of the utmost importance that a political settlement of the crisis be reached with the greatest sense of urgency. Complex issues do not have simple answers. Any comprehensive solution always begins with the first step, and the resumption of dialogue and negotiation cannot be deferred indefinitely.”
2023-05-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9321 (2023) · source
“The world economy faces a renewed risk of recession, which calls for coordinated actions by all countries to jointly maintain the stability of global food, energy and financial markets. However, consecutive rounds of unilateral sanctions and ever-increasing long- armed jurisdictions have not only resulted in severe humanitarian consequences but also undermined global industrial supply chains. The United States and other relevant countries should seriously consider their behaviour, correct it and create the conditions necessary for developing countries to grow their economies and improve their people’s livelihoods. They must refrain from engaging in economic coercion and fabricating narratives that accuse other countries of economic coercion.”
2023-05-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9321 (2023) · source