Chinese envoy calls for political stability, improved securi

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Monday called for political stability and improved security situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

China follows closely the recent developments in the internal relations of the DRC's governing coalition, said Dai Bing, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations.

DRC President Felix Tshisekedi on Sunday announced the end of the ruling coalition and his intention to form a new one. If a new coalition is not possible, he would dissolve parliament and call for fresh elections, he said.

"We call on all parties in the DRC to respect the spirit of the Constitution, put the interests of the country and the people first, properly address their differences through dialogue and consultation, and spare no effort to preserve the hard-won political stability and unity," Dai told the Security Council.

The DRC should not relapse into crisis. The international community should respect the DRC's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, and positively contribute to its political stability, he said.

Dai also stressed the need to improve the security situation in the DRC.

The past three months have witnessed exacerbated armed conflicts and inter-communal violence in North Kivu and South Kivu, causing heavy civilian casualties, he said.

The UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC, MONUSCO, and its force intervention brigade play an indispensable role in stabilizing the situation. China supports the renewal of MONUSCO's mandate by one year, he said.

China welcomes the DRC government's engagement in the strategy for the phased drawdown of MONUSCO, and agrees that MONUSCO's drawdown and exit should be predicated on the security situation and the responsive capacity of the DRC's security institutions, said Dai.

China supports the region-specific arrangements that take into account the evolving situation and conflict dynamics in different provinces, and calls on MONUSCO to coordinate and collaborate with the DRC government, UN Country Team and international financial institutions to ensure an orderly, responsible and sustainable implementation of the drawdown strategy so as to avoid creating a security vacuum, he said.

Dai asked for an integrated approach to address the root causes of conflicts in the DRC.

The years of instability in eastern DRC is essentially due to the failure to turn its resource advantages into development strength, he said.

The lawful exploration and use of natural sources can provide people with more job opportunities and livelihoods, and therefore offers the key to breaking the vicious cycle of conflict.

The disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programs being developed by the DRC government envisage more job and training opportunities for ex-combatants to facilitate their integration into the community.

Due regard should be given to the humanitarian crisis. Compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic and Ebola, the humanitarian situation in the DRC is increasingly fragile, with more than 5 million people displaced and over 20 million people facing food insecurity. The international community should increase humanitarian assistance to the DRC to help the Congolese people, said Dai.

China has been among the first countries to help the DRC fight COVID-19, donating dozens of patches of anti-pandemic supplies and pairing up Chinese hospitals with DRC counterparts. China has also donated remote learning equipment to poor and far-flung areas of the DRC to help more young people access education, he said.

China is ready to work alongside the international community to help the DRC in its quest for peace, stability, prosperity, and development, he said.