According to China's permanent delegation to the United Nations website local time 15 news, China's permanent deputy representative to the United Nations Geng Xiaoping spoke at the Security Council open meeting on the issue of Yemen, calling on the Houthi armed forces of Yemen and Israel to maintain restraint and avoid escalation of tensions.
The full speech of the Ambassador is as follows:
The Chairman:
I am grateful to Special Envoy Grendberg and Deputy Secretary-General Fletcher for the notification and welcome delegates from Yemen to the meeting today.
In the past month, unrest in the Middle East has intensified and tensions in Yemen have re-escalated. Houthi armed forces and military conflict in Israel have significantly escalated, and the humanitarian situation in Yemen has accelerated and is deeply concerned. China appreciates the work of Special Envoy Grendelberg and looks forward to a positive impact from the international community to provide constructive assistance to drive the warming situation in Yemen and restart the peace process.
First, the resumption of dialogue negotiations is the only way out. In the long-standing conflict between the two sides in Yemen, the solution to the Yemen issue cannot be solved at once, but under no circumstances can the right option for a political solution be abandoned. The current priority remains to push the two sides to resume dialogue negotiations, gradually resolve the contradictions, strive for early reconciliation and start economic reconstruction.
Second,ining stability is a priority. Recently, the Houthi armed forces and Israel have launched a new round of mutual attacks, with the intensity and frequency of the conflict increasing further. We call on both sides to remain calm and refrain from escalating tensions. The international community should respect Yemen’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Houthi armed forces should respect the rights of merchant ships to navigate in the Red Sea waters in accordance with international law and safeguard the safety of the Red Sea navigation.
Third, it is urgent to mitigate the humanitarian catastrophe.Food scarcity in Yemen has reached its most severe level in history, with organizations predicting a local famine this month, especially for vulnerable groups such as women and children.We call on the international community to provide more urgent humanitarian assistance to Yemen to curb the widening momentum of the food crisis as soon as possible.
Fourth, compliance with humanitarian principles is a clear bottom line. Protecting civilians and civilian infrastructure is an obligation under international humanitarian law that all parties to the conflict must abide by. UN agencies should not be targeted. China has expressed serious concern over the recent detention of more than 20 UN personnel, which is absolutely unacceptable. We call on the Houthi Armed Forces to immediately and unconditionally release all detainees.
The first resolution adopted last week after the opening of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly was the New York Declaration on a peaceful settlement of the Palestinian issue and the implementation of the “Two-State Plan”.The Gaza conflict has been ongoing for two years, causing an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe. China calls on the Security Council and the international community to take all necessary measures to calm the war in Gaza as soon as possible, ease the humanitarian situation, promote the warming, and create conditions for the settlement of the Yemen and Red Sea problems.
Thank you President.