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UN/YemenBack
[Published: Thursday January 10 2019]

'We cannot lose momentum' on the road to peace in Yemen, UN envoy

GENEVA, 10 Jan. - (ANA)  - "The difficult part" of reaching a lasting political settlement in Yemen "is still ahead of us" said the UN Special Envoy on Wednesday, urging the Security Council to support the "speedy implementation" of the fragile ceasefire agreed in and around the crucial port city of Hudaydah, at breakthrough talks in Sweden last month.

Martin Griffiths told Council members he was "under no illusion that these are very sensitive and challenging days" for both the Government coalition, and opposition Houthi leaders, "and for Yemen as a whole."

Mr. Griffiths updated the Council that since Yemeni consultations in Stockholm, Sweden – from 6-13 December 2018 – President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi and Abdelmalik Al-Houthi, leader of Houthi opposition movement Ansar Allah, have recognized the meetings "as an important step towards a comprehensive resolution to the conflict" and were determined to build on that progress through a subsequent round of consultations.

Noting that the 18 December Hudaydah governorate ceasefire had been largely adhered to, Mr. Griffiths acknowledged that while some violence occurred, it was "very limited" compared to the before the consultations.

"This relative calm, I believe, indicates the tangible benefit of the Stockholm Agreement for the Yemeni people and the continued commitment of the parties to making the agreement work," he asserted.

The special envoy credited the Council's "swift authorization" of resolution 2451, as "a clear signal" of the international community's desire to turn the Agreement into a reality and hoped for swift implementation of security arrangements and humanitarian access routes.

On the prisoner exchange agreement, Mr. Griffiths said although "gradual and tentative", the UN was working to finalize the lists submitted by both parties in Stockholm and would follow up with talks on 14 January in Amman, Jordan.

"I hope these talks will allow many thousands of prisoners to go home and be reunited with their families", he said.

Mr. Griffiths lamented that no consensus was reached on the Central Bank of Yemen or opening the Sana'a airport, which would significantly contribute to the economy and relieve human suffering.

"I continue to work with the parties to resolve them," he maintained, urging both sides to "exert restraint in their media rhetoric".

With the goal of reaching a lasting political settlement, Mr. Griffiths called Sweden "a start" and encouraged keeping up the momentum in moving the process forward.

"We need to convene the next round, but we need substantive progress on what was agreed in Stockholm" he concluded.


'Implement what was agreed in Sweden'


For his part, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock told the Council that the Stockholm Agreement, and resolution 2451, "is already having an impact".

Civilians in Hudaydah "are a little more confident and a little less afraid that they will be victims of air strikes or caught in crossfire" he said. However, he added, the country's wider humanitarian situation "remains catastrophic".

Mr. Lowcock laid out how humanitarian agencies are working to meet Yemen's needs, including the World Food Programme (WFP) providing a record 9.5 million people with emergency food assistance in December.

Humanitarian agencies also continue to roll back cholera, improve living conditions for vulnerable Internally Displaced People (IDPs) and hunger and malnutrition for 240,000 people facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity

"Altogether, operations in Yemen this year will, if funding is available, reach 15 million people – about half the population," he informed the members.

He acknowledged the seriousness of WFP's statement over food aid misappropriation, saying "Steps to improve targeting and delivery mechanisms are being taken as we speak".


Security Council resolution status


The relief coordinator gave the Council an extensive update on humanitarian issues related to Resolution 2451, beginning with access.

"The humanitarian scale-up that Yemenis need will not be possible if aid workers and supplies cannot travel safely and freely to where they are needed", he said, pointing out that enough grain for 3.5 million people had been sitting unused, possibly spoiling in the Red Sea Mills and humanitarian warehouses.

"All parties must allow and facilitate safe, timely and unhindered humanitarian access", he said, adding that WFP still had nearly 500 containers stuck in Aden port.

Regarding the economy, he picked up on Mr. Griffiths' comments on the Central Bank, noting that the Yemeni rial is losing value.

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), without intervention, the exchange rate is likely to slide further, devastating millions of people who need to purchase "food, fuel and medicines."

"Your resolution also points out that paying pensions and civil-servant salaries across the country is another key element of strengthening the economy," he stated.

He spoke about additional funding for the 2019 UN Coordinated Humanitarian Response Plan, recalling that last year, $2.4 billion, or 83 per cent of requirements, was raised.

"In response to the deterioration in the situation we have seen especially over the last six months, humanitarian agencies will need even more money," he argued.

On 26 February, he outlined that the Secretary-General would convene a high-level pledging conference in Geneva where he hopes donors will announce "even more generous funding".

"Millions of Yemenis are looking to us for assistance and protection, and we need to see more and faster progress on all the humanitarian elements of your resolution to make any practical difference to their lives" concluded the Humanitarian Coordinator.  - (ANA) -

AB/ANA/10 January 2019 - - -

 


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