United Nations: A Chinese envoy on Wednesday called for the implementation of the Security Council resolution on Gaza that was just adopted.
The effectiveness of Security Council resolutions lies in their implementation. The key is for the parties concerned to implement the provisions of the resolution to the letter, said Zhang Jun, China’s permanent representative to the United Nations.
It is necessary for the Security Council to establish a necessary mechanism to take follow-up actions to monitor and report on the implementation, he said in an explanation of vote after the adoption of the Maltese-drafted resolution.
Resolution 2712 calls for urgent and extended humanitarian pauses and corridors throughout the Gaza Strip “for a sufficient number of days” to enable the full, rapid, safe, and unhindered humanitarian access; to facilitate the continuous, sufficient and unhindered provision of essential goods and services throughout Gaza, including water, electricity, fuel, food, and medical supplies, as well as emergency repairs to essential infrastructure; and to enable urgent rescue and recovery efforts, including for missing children in damaged and destroyed buildings, and including the medical evacuation of sick or injured children and their caregivers.
Zhang said the Security Council should have adopted a more comprehensive and robust resolution much earlier.
Resolution 2712 can only serve as a first step based on minimum consensus. Despite this, the resolution is still of significance as it constitutes an initial step toward a cease-fire and a minimum requirement to save lives, and helps avert a greater humanitarian crisis and catastrophe, he said.
Resolution 2712 was the first product of the Security Council on Gaza after the Oct. 7 escalation.
The council had failed to adopt four draft resolutions on the situation in a row.
Zhang said China has always supported all efforts aimed at promoting a cease-fire and an end to the fighting and restoring peace. China welcomes any initiative conducive to the protection of civilians and the easing of the humanitarian crisis.
“We look forward to the immediate realization of durable humanitarian pause as called for in the resolution to ensure a sufficient number of days of cessation of hostilities to allow UN humanitarian agencies, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and others to carry out full-scale humanitarian operations, to urgently search for and rescue missing children, to transfer and treat the seriously ill and seriously injured, and to rehabilitate critical infrastructure,” he said.
China is gravely concerned about and strongly opposes the clear violations of international humanitarian law taking place in Gaza. China urges Israel to immediately cease its military operations against civilian facilities, including hospitals, and to restore basic supplies of water, electricity, and fuel, among others, as soon as possible. China is strongly against the forced displacement and transfer of the Palestinian people, said Zhang.
He reiterated China’s call to guarantee the safety and humanitarian needs of the hostages and to support active diplomatic efforts to facilitate their early release.
The Security Council must assume its responsibility and take further meaningful and responsible actions in a timely manner, he said. “We must continue to make an immediate cease-fire an overriding goal in order to prevent further casualties and destruction as the fighting rages on. We must make the opening of humanitarian space a priority, clearing the way for adequate humanitarian supplies to enter Gaza and creating the conditions necessary for humanitarian agencies to operate in a safe and unhindered manner. We must take the revitalization of the prospects for the two-state solution as the way forward and galvanize diplomatic efforts to promote a comprehensive, just, and lasting solution to the question of Palestine.”
China would like to emphasize that any arrangements on the future of Gaza must respect the will and the independent choice of the Palestinian people, he added.
On issues bearing on war and peace and long-term stability and security of the Middle East, the Security Council must stand on the side of justice and make choices that stand the test of history. As president of the Security Council for the month of November, China will continue to work with all parties to strengthen coordination, build consensus, and push the Security Council toward its due responsibilities, said Zhang.
