Перейти к основному содержанию

Special Envoy's Press Stakeout: Opening Remarks, 15 June 2021

Страны
Йемен
Источники
OSESGY
Дата публикации
Происхождение
Просмотреть оригинал

Good afternoon, it is a pleasure to be here with all of you.

I just briefed the Council on the situation in Yemen. This was the last briefing in my capacity as Special Envoy. I’m grateful for the privilege of having served this beautiful and rich country for the past three years. I’m grateful for having the opportunity to continue serving Yemen in my new capacity in OCHA, which I aim to start sometime in July.

You heard me brief on the overall situation in Yemen and the latest on the negotiations. As you know, we have been trying for some months to get agreement on four points: the opening of Sana’a airport for international travel; reducing and eliminating impediments to the arrival of ships, oil ships in particular, into Hudaydah ports; a nationwide ceasefire; and the start of the political process. And as I informed the Council just now, the gap between the parties, the gap between the Government of Yemen and Ansar Allah, remains too wide for me to announce what I would have loved to announce, which was that we had a deal. We have tried to bridge this gap. But, so far, we have not been able to do so. And I gave in that session, open session of the Council, an indication of the different positions of the two parties. I would like to say that in the last few months, we have had terrific diplomatic firepower in support of this negotiation, notably of course from the United States, the new Special Envoy Tim Lenderking, but also very very much in the region, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait — I was there just earlier in this week. And Oman, as you know, has just returned from a week-long visit to Sana’a to follow up on the discussions I had.

I would like to end, Steph, if I may by simply saying that, in fact, while the picture is often bleak in Yemen, for humanitarian reasons, for political reasons, for military reasons, there is always the experience of Yemeni activism, of Yemeni civil society to give us a different picture and one of hope. Because, as I said in the council, the way in which, despite what may or may not be happening in the diplomatic level, activist groups, community groups, civil society, women’s networks engage to mitigate the consequences of this appalling conflict. It is testament to the spirit of the people of Yemen and it keeps us focused, guided, and I hope honest.

Thank you very much.