Chinese envoy asks for transition to cross-line humanitarian delivery in Syria

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Monday asked for a transition from cross-border to cross-line humanitarian delivery in Syria.

Ten years into the conflict, Syria is mired in a deep economic and humanitarian crisis. The international community must lend a helping hand to assist the Syrian people in maintaining their livelihood and hope. China supports the international community and the UN agencies in stepping up their assistance to Syria based on the guiding principles for emergency humanitarian relief, said Dai Bing, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations.

All humanitarian operations in Syria should fully respect Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity. The cross-border mechanism, which is politically and legally controversial, should be adjusted in a timely manner in light of the development on the ground and make a gradual transition to cross-line delivery, he told the Security Council.

Cross-line humanitarian relief operations in northern Syria should be continuously scaled up. China welcomes the formulation of a six-month cross-line humanitarian relief plan of the United Nations for Northwest Syria and welcomes the World Food Programme's launch of the second cross-line delivery to Northwest Syria earlier this month, he said. "We commend the Syrian government's active cooperation in the implementation of the UN plan, and urge Turkey and other de facto local authorities in Northwest Syria to provide timely access and safety guarantees for cross-line relief operations and facilitate the distribution of supplies."

Early-recovery and livelihood projects should be rigorously supported, said Dai.

China is pleased to see that the United Nations and its partners are carrying out early-recovery projects in multiple areas, including cleaning up debris, restoring critical infrastructure, and providing vocational training. However, the scale of relevant projects is quite limited. China hopes the United Nations will step up investment in this area to help the Syrian people become self-sufficient and reduce their humanitarian needs, he said.

To fundamentally overcome Syria's humanitarian challenges, there is a need to comprehensively address the major issues that endanger Syria's sovereignty, security and development, said Dai.

Unilateral sanctions have brought immeasurable losses and harm to Syria. Security Council members should take concrete measures to eliminate the negative impact of unilateral sanctions, he said.

Countries concerned should withdraw from the illegally occupied territory in northern Syria and stop all actions that undermine Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity. The international community should abandon double standards and eradicate terrorist forces in Syria at an early date, he said. "Only in this way can we help Syria restore peace and order and safeguard the fundamental interests of the Syrian people."