New York (People’s Daily) – The international community should continue supporting the Congolese peace process and provide humanitarian assistance such as medical care and food, Ma Zhaoxu, the permanent representative of China to the United Nations said at a UN public meeting on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Friday. 

On December 30 2018, the DRC held its presidential, national assembly and provincial  elections peacefully, in which  20 million voters cast their ballot. Ma said that under observation by  regional organizations, such as the AU and SADC, the election results have fully “testified to the strong will of the government and people of the DRC to safeguard peace and stability of the country in a Congolese way and their aspirations to achieve a smooth transfer of power through peaceful elections”. Ma underlined China’s appreciation of the efforts by DRC government and CENI in holding the vote.

“China sees elections as a country’s internal affair and believes that the people of the DRC have the ability and wisdom to resolve the relevant issues in their own way”, Ma said. “We hope that parties in the DRC can stay calm, exercise restraint and resolve differences through dialogue and negotiation, so as to maintain the country’s peace and stability”. 

The international community was urged to pay attention to three areas to assist DRC - to show full respect for its sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity and the authority of CENI, to continue helping the government  maintain peace and stability, and to keep up active humanitarian assistance to the DRC.

Last year, as the security situation in certain parts of the DRC improved, approximately one million displaced persons returned home. However, the humanitarian situation is still facing challenges, with food insecurity being particularly serious and Ebola epidemic still dire, which requires continued support of the international community for the work of the WHO and ICRC.

“China has been a staunch, long-standing supporter of the DRC peace process, and has been actively involved in UN peacekeeping operations in the country. It will continue to provide medical, food and other humanitarian assistance to the DRC, staying actively involved in its economic and social development and do our part for the peace, stability and development of the DRC”, Ma added.