YouSaid · the spoken record

Alsaidy

lines on the record

15

first

2020-07-28

most recent

2020-07-28

sittings or episodes

1

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un-security-council

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1. “As to the rest of the asks — including discussions of war and peace — being a humanitarian worker and head of an international medical organization, we do not engage in such talks with parties to the conflict. We do not mix politics with aid efforts. However, whenever we have a chance to go out in public and speak about suffering in Yemen and what is needed to stop it, we do not hesitate to say it. The message is received by all parties, and they keep referring to that. I hope I have addressed the question. Perhaps my colleague Ms. Almasabi would like to add something.”

   2020-07-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8753 (2020) · source

2. “Ms. Alsaidy: I am very grateful for all of the statements from the participants. If I am not mistaken, the question was whether we addressed the asks I mentioned to the parties to the conflict inside Yemen — and if so, what was the response when we faced them. Of the four asks we addressed to the Security Council, we addressed to them ask number three, namely, unimpeded access to aid for all people in need. That is the daily ask on which we engage with the parties to the conflict in different areas. Whenever we want to access people in need, that is one part of our daily work. However, we do that jointly with other non-governmental organizations, with the United Nations and with all humanitarian agencies. And we also do it bilaterally for our specific projects and activities.”

   2020-07-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8753 (2020) · source

3. “We want an equal chance with other nations to work, invent and build our country. Nelson Mandela said that overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice. It is the protection of a fundamental human right — the right to dignity and to a decent life.. For Yemen, this will never happen until the war stops. Yemen needs the Security Council to prevent the Yemeni economy from collapsing and to stop the war instead of stopping the aid.”

   2020-07-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8753 (2020) · source

4. “However, even though the country is still torn apart by war, as it faces unprecedented economic collapse, recurrent floods and the global pandemic, the simultaneous decrease of funding to Yemen is absolutely unjust to affected populations in the country. We did not choose to be dependent on aid, but we are. This is not who we are. Those who have visited or worked in Yemen know that Yemeni people in the north and the south are a peaceful, decent nation, full of dignity, pride, social solidarity and generosity. These are not the circumstances in which we want to see our children grow up. Growing up hopeless, powerless and condemned to wait for what the world will give them out of charity is not a future that any child in the world deserves. We want our lives back.”

   2020-07-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8753 (2020) · source

5. “Fuel is equal to food because cultivation and transportation of basic goods come at a higher cost and become unaffordable for regular civilians. My third ask is for ensuring safe and unfettered humanitarian access. I therefore ask the Security Council to push all warring parties to respect international humanitarian law and humanitarian principles and to support safe, unhindered access of affected populations to relief. Front-line humanitarian workers demand to be unconditionally able to reach those in need. To this end, internal impediments and additional bureaucracies on movement of aid and personnel in both the north and south must be lifted immediately. My fourth ask is for the maintenance of aid funding and that the world not abandon Yemen. Aid cannot and will not replace peace.”

   2020-07-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8753 (2020) · source

6. “Thirdly, the blockade and any other restrictions on importations and exportation of all commercial goods to and from Yemen should be lifted. Restoring functioning market dynamics in all areas of Yemen is essential to giving Yemenis opportunities to live in dignity. It is also the only way to restore the ability of families to afford basic needs without depending on humanitarian aid. Repeated fuel crises in the north and the south threaten the ability of civilians to survive. The world is watching the long queues of cars in Yemeni gas stations and must be wondering why people do not walk instead. In Yemen, in reality, fuel is not just about cars. Fuel is equal to water because water pumps depend on fuel. It is equal to health because hospitals are working from generators.”

   2020-07-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8753 (2020) · source

7. “How can the Security Council save Yemen’s economy? First, it should put pressure on the countries directly involved in the conflict to step in and stop the depreciation of the Yemeni rial. I know that many economies around the world are struggling because of COVID-19, yet we should not forget that Yemen’s plight is an entirely human-made suffering and that the countries directly involved in the conflict have obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law to protect economic and social rights. Saving the Yemeni economy must remain a priority. Secondly, the Security Council should put pressure on the Yemeni parties to the conflict to pay all taxes and put all oil revenue in the Central Bank of Yemen. We too should stand by our economy.”

   2020-07-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8753 (2020) · source

8. “We are also concerned that the negative impact of COVID-19 on the global economy will boost weapons sales in the hopes that that will boost economies. We hope that we are mistaken, because any economic profits made from selling weapons that might be used in Yemen are literally made off the dead bodies of Yemeni men, women, boys and girls. I hope that decision makers will keep that in mind before legitimizing any future weapons sales in Yemen. If members of the Security Council truly support peace in Yemen, then they should stop all contributions to the war. My second ask relates to saving Yemen’s economy. Depreciation of the Yemeni rial and the deterioration of the economy are both the direct result of this war and the direct underlying factors in the continuation of the cycle of violence.”

   2020-07-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8753 (2020) · source

9. “Secondly, Council members should put pressure on countries directly involved in the conflict to stop military operations in Yemen and to stop weaponizing different groups in Yemen. Thirdly, Council members should put pressure on the many countries, including the permanent members of the Security Council, to put an end to their direct and indirect logistical and military support to military operations in Yemen. On the level of the street, regular civilians like myself keep wondering if there truly is collective international willingness to end this war, because these and other countries continue selling weapons in the region and fuelling the war. This contradiction makes no sense to the Yemeni people, which is why we question and strongly demand the international community’s honest and principled support for peace.”

   2020-07-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8753 (2020) · source

10. “They lost all access to a decent income, and are now running out of options. The Security Council can and should give options back to Yemen. To this end, I have four asks. My first ask is to stop the war in Yemen. Stopping the war is the only solution for civilians to be self- reliant again instead of aid-dependent. All the aid in the world will not be enough to address the soaring needs. We are grateful to all Governments that have announced support for peace and for the unstinting efforts of Mr. Griffiths, but they can do more to stop this war. Among the things that can be done are, first, the Security Council should push the parties to engage in good faith in peace talks.”

    2020-07-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8753 (2020) · source

11. “Clashes, bombings, shellings and lack of security are killing men, women and children, as was the case in the most recent attack, in the Al-Hazm district of Al-Jawf, killing 11 civilians, including women and children. In addition, the current economic deterioration directly threatens the lives of the survivors because food, drugs and safe drinking water are now unaffordable for most. Let me tell the Council about our awareness campaign about the prevention of cholera. At the time, many men and women expressed their frustration and asked how they were expected to wash their hands with plenty of water if they struggled to secure enough water for cleaning and cooking. Indeed, hundreds of thousands of Yemenis lost their jobs, salaries, farms, fisheries and access to ports and markets because of the conflict.”

    2020-07-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8753 (2020) · source

12. “Destruction, lack of supplies, shortage of fuel and lack and irregularities of Government salaries are some of the many difficulties we encounter daily. I would like to pay tribute to Yemeni health workers, who are just as dedicated to their patients as their counterparts in any other country. Health workers in Yemen have to choose between unpaid or inadequately paid work in health facilities or paid work outside health facilities. They basically have to choose between caring for their patients or feeding their children. It is not fair, and no health worker in the world should be put in that position. Yet, health workers are not the only ones with their backs against the wall. The same is basically true for public servants and all Yemenis.”

    2020-07-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8753 (2020) · source

13. “We see families torn apart by the war. I know that two days from now, when we celebrate Eid Al-Adha, many families will not be reunited. This already insufferable situation has been aggravated by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Although accurate data on COVID-19 cases and deaths are not available in Yemen, I can tell the Council that we see people dying in their homes and in health facilities not only from coronavirus-like symptoms but, above all, from the lack of timely access to basic health-care services. Of the national health systems in the world, Yemen’s was the least ready for the pandemic. More than half of health facilities are not functioning well or at all because of the war.”

    2020-07-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8753 (2020) · source

14. “We see a 22-year-old mother struggling to make her way through clashes and roadblocks to reach a hospital in Aden to give birth. She ended up losing her baby and undergoing an emergency hysterectomy to save her life. We see fathers despairing because they cannot afford to get their malnourished children to treatment centres. We see patients dying from the inability to find or afford medicine to treat their chronic diseases. Families in Yemen must now choose between chronic disease medicines for their loved ones and food. We see children who have survived bombings in Al-Hudaydah and now have post-traumatic stress disorders and specific phobias that render them afraid of even the sound of rain. We see a 12-year-old girl shocked after stumbling upon the dead body of her classmate as she escaped the bombing of her school in Sana’a.”

    2020-07-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8753 (2020) · source

15. “Ms. Alsaidy: I would like to thank in particular the German presidency for this invitation to brief the Council. I also thank Mr. Griffiths and Mr. Lowcock for their briefings, which accurately reflect what is happening in Yemen. Based on my personal experience as a civilian who lives in Yemen, and based on my professional experience as head of Médecins du Monde in Yemen since 2017, which allows me to move through areas under the control of various parties, I will walk the Council through what is happening in the lives of ordinary Yemeni civilians. I want to tell the Council what we experience in Yemen, in addition to what Mr. Griffiths and Mr. Lowcock already mentioned. We see mothers and children dying because of preventable complications during pregnancy or birth.”

    2020-07-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8753 (2020) · source