UN Security Council Briefing and Consultations on the Middle East (Yemen)

Mr. President,
Let me begin by thanking Special Envoy Hans Grunberg, OCHA ASG Joyce Msuya and the Head of UNMHA General Michael Beary, for their briefings. As we consider the situation in Yemen, we deeply regret the inability of the parties to reach an agreement to extend the Truce for six months as proposed by the Special Envoy. Rather than a historic step forward towards the consolidation and expansion of the truce, the people of Yemen now have to dread the prospects of a return to the dark days of violence and indiscriminate killings and destruction of what is left of civilian infrastructures. The international community must therefore do every within its power to get the parties to extend the Truce Agreement to forestall any possible return to military hostilities with its attendant consequences for civilian lives. Particularly, regional stakeholders with influence over the parties must leverage their relationship with the parties to facilitate an agreement as soon as practicable. We applaud the efforts of the Special Envoy and the entire UN team as well as all other stakeholders involved in the negotiation process. Mr. Hans Grundberg, we assure you and your team of our full support! We know change does not happen overnight, but with perseverance and dedication, a solution to the Yemeni Crisis will be found. We therefore wish to encourage you not to be daunted by the current setback, but to continue to be focused in your pursuit of peace for the benefit of all Yemenis.
 
Mr. President,
As we welcome the continuing engagement of the Government of Yemen with the Special Envoy in his quest to extend the Truce, we note with regret, the maximalist demands of the Houthis in the last days of the negotiations that has unfortunately stalled efforts to renew the Truce. It is imperative that the interest of the ordinary Yemeni, who has endured a lot of hardship and suffering for the past seven years should reign supreme as the parties engage in the negotiations. In this regard, we call on the parties to be flexible and engage constructively in the spirit of compromise, as they return to the negotiating table, even in dealing with vexed issues, such as the re-opening of roads in Taiz and the payments of salaries of civil servants in Houthi-held areas, among others.
 
Ahead of the renewal of the Truce Agreement, any escalation of hostilities by the parties will not only reverse the marginal progress made in the past six months, but will likely exacerbate the humanitarian situation in the country and worsen the plight of many Yemenis. Even though there is currently no formal Truce in place, we implore the parties to refrain from actions that may derail the relative calm and tranquility that the people of Yemen have enjoyed in recent times. On the humanitarian front, we call for continued international support to address the wide-spread food insecurity in Yemen that puts parts of the country’s population at high-risk of famine. We acknowledge the recent support by the international community, including some members of this Council, but as ASG Msuya pointed out, more still needs to be done to help bridge the humanitarian funding gap to make food and other essential supplies reach all those in desperate need, particularly, women and children.
 
We also remain concerned about the fate of missing and detained humanitarian workers in the country and want to use this opportunity to call for necessary information on their whereabouts and their immediate and unconditional release. Those who have chosen to take this illegal action are reminded that they will be made to account for targeting humanitarian workers and impeding delivery of humanitarian assistance in line with international human rights and humanitarian laws. Equally concerning are the risks that misinformation and disinformation campaigns continue to pose to such workers in Yemen. We call for increased discussions and exchanges within humanitarian organizations as well awareness creation programmes among civilian populations on humanitarian and human rights laws to help bridge the knowledge gap so as to stem the tide of such menace.
 
Mr. President,
As highlighted in today’s briefing, the danger posed by explosive remnants of war in Yemen, particularly in Hudayda, remains high. We are deeply concerned that notwithstanding the lull in hostilities, landmines continue to pose serious threats not only to the safety of civilians but also to agricultural land, which unfortunately disrupts agricultural production, livelihoods and recovery efforts. We call for global concerted efforts to address the situation. While the lull in hostilities may have marginally boosted the country’s economy, economic decline, manifested in the currency depreciation and high inflation pressures resulting from years of conflict, continues to afflict the people of Yemen. It is our hope that much of the country’s population, who have been pushed into poverty, hunger and desperation in the past seven years, will be allowed to enjoy the dividends of the expired Truce that was beginning to return dignity to them through gradual restoration of some basic services and the steady return of economic activities, including increased availability of fuel and the rise in the number and frequency of commercial flights into and out of Yemen, among others.
 
Mr. President,
It is regrettable that the continuing blockage of roads into and out of the city of Taiz remains one of the main sticking points of negotiations to extend the Truce. The curtailment of the right of civilians to move freely in a safe and secured manner through blockages of the main roads linking the city with other parts of Yemen is unacceptable. This unfortunate development continues to bring immense suffering and hardship to the people of Taiz and the affected governorates whose access to essential supplies have been unfairly limited for years. We call on the parties, particularly, the Houthis, to take immediate steps towards lifting the siege to help ease the suffering of the affected people. In the midst of the current uncertainty in Yemen, we are pleased to note that there is some glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel as the needed funding goal for the first phase of the controlled dismantling of the FSO Safer has been reached. We commend all stakeholders who have made various contributions to enable the first phase of the operation to commence and call for expedited action by the UN and all those involved in the process to avert the humanitarian and environmental disaster.
 
Another positive development, is the generous contributions of the United Kingdom and the United States of America to ensure uninterrupted operation of the United Nations Verification and Inspection Mechanism for Yemen (UNVIM) to enable it continue its monitoring and inspection role on commercial and bilateral assistance cargo destined to the Red Sea Ports in Yemen. The gesture will ensure the continued flow of much needed imports into the country and we commend the two countries for their generous contribution towards such a worthy cause. It is our hope that the Mechanism will continue to benefit from the full cooperation of all parties to effectively carry out its mandate in view of the wider implications its operation has for the war in Yemen.
 
Mr. President,
In conclusion, we entreat the parties to be flexible and to make the needed concessions to renew the Truce Agreement in the interest of all Yemenis. For once, the parties need to prove to the international community that notwithstanding their differences, they can prioritise the needs of the people they are seeking to govern. Their main preoccupation as they return to the negotiation table should therefore not only be limited to the extension of the Truce, but should be geared towards a nationwide cease-fire, as a prelude to negotiations towards a comprehensive and a durable political solution, spearheaded by Yemenis with the support of the United Nations.
 
I thank you for your attention.