YouSaid · the spoken record

Beasley

lines on the record: 81
first: 2018-03-23
most recent: 2022-09-15
sittings or episodes: 7
sources: un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“These systems protect the people we feed and ensure that basic humanitarian principles are met and that we are accountable to our donors and the world. In the past two years, like in the film Groundhog Day, we have been telling Ansar Allah over and over that we had concerns about its resistance to our neutral, independent operations. It was not just a matter of registration that we were talking about. As Mr. Lowcock remembers, we were also having trouble getting equipment imported, getting visas approved for staff and many other issues. We kept raising these issues repeatedly, clay in and day out. In December 2017, we started formal negotiations with the Sana'a authorities to allow us to identify the hungriest and put them on a biometric system.”
2019-06-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8551 (2019) · source
“Food assistance provided by the United Nations is being diverted in areas controlled by Ansar Allah at the expense of hungry children, women and men. Let me take a step back just a moment to describe one of our main jobs at the World Food Programme - that is, to determine who has the greatest need of our assistance. No matter where we operate, we must be able to independently identify and verify those who need assistance. We also have to put in place monitoring systems to ensure that those people truly get the food they need. That is another of our obligations. These systems help to ensure that others cannot deprive people of the food they need to stay alive and that our food does not support political agendas.”
2019-06-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8551 (2019) · source
“Council members may recall that, in November 2017, I spoke out very vocally and critically about the coalition's blockade of Al-Hudaydah and the lack of humanitarian funds and support in response to the consequences of war. At that time, the Houthis told me how grateful they were that I spoke out. I told them then: "This has nothing to do with you." I said that it had everything to do with what was right and with the World Food Programme's humanitarian obligation and mandate to do everything within our power to reach those in need and to be neutral, impartial and independent. And I told them: "If one day you cross the line, I will speak out about you. So do what is right." Today, I am sad to report that the World Food Programme (WFP) is being prevented from feeding the hungriest people in Yemen.”
2019-06-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8551 (2019) · source
“Mr. Beasley: I offer very special thanks for the opportunity to be here with Council today. I also thank Martin Griffiths and Mark Lowcock, who are literally on ground, working all over the world. Mr. Griffiths is working in a particularly difficult situation in Yemen. We interface, collaborate and coordinate literally on a day-to-day basis. I hope some day I can come here to brief the Council on some great news with respect to the conflict ending or well-fed and healthy children. Regrettably, today is not that day. The humanitarian situation in Yemen is dire, and despite the immense suffering of the 20 million Yemenis who do not have enough to eat, we continue to face fierce resistance to simply just doing ourjob to keep people alive.”
2019-06-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8551 (2019) · source
“With all the wealth in the world today, all the intellectual knowledge, and all the technology the world has today, there should not be a single child going to bed hungry in Yemen, much less anywhere else. It is long, oh so very long, past the time to stop it.”
2018-11-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8404 (2018) · source
“The international community must use all its power to stop this war and rescue the Yemen economy and the Yemeni people. Humanitarian organizations, like World Food Programme, must get the resources and the access they need to save the lives of innocent children and families. Otherwise, at the World Food Programme and other humanitarian agencies, we will be in the position of deciding which children eat and which children do not eat, which children live and which children die. How would anyone in this Chamber like that job? Every child deserves better. The words "heartbreaking" and "tragic" do not do the situation in Yemen justice. All of humankind should be ashamed of what is happening in that country.”
2018-11-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8404 (2018) · source
“We work with store owners, family- owned businesses to help them provide the liquidity to stimulate the economy in these communities and to get that engine going again, which is critical for the stability of this country. But as we begin this work, the warring parties must guarantee access, especially in and out of Al-Hudaydah port. If Al-Hudaydah port shuts down without alternatives, it will be a devastation beyond our furthest imagination. Little boys and little girls will die. We cannot truly meet the need unless we have much more improved access throughout the country - for logistics corridors, ports and the ability to monitor and assess. We need expedited clearances for our shipments, visas, equipment requests and personnel. Yemen is on the brink so, together, we must act.”
2018-11-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8404 (2018) · source
“This would require a cash injection of approximately $200 million per month. Secondly, we need to scale up our assistance in order to help 12 million people per month. As I said earlier, we are helping about 8 million. We need to scale up to approximately 12 million, give or take 1 or 2 million. That would require about $150 million to $160 million a month just for food and assistance, versus the approximately $100 million a month that we are spending at the World Food Programme. If we are able to raise the funds of $150 million to $160 million a month just for the food assistance alone, we hope and believe that about $50 million of that could be used as cash-based assistance for the most food-insecure people, and that cash-based assistance would not only save lives, but would also help inject much-needed liquidity into the economy.”
2018-11-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8404 (2018) · source
“I agree with absolutely everything that Mark was talking about. This is not just one element. It is a package. We must work together, but let me clear that starvation is on the horizon unless circumstances change, and change immediately. The war has taken its toll over four years, but the economic crisis will accelerate that damage in a just a matter of months. We must combine humanitarian assistance with an all-out effort to restore the Yemeni economy. Let me be crystal clear - humanitarian assistance alone cannot reverse the dire situation. We need a twin-track approach. First, we need to put more hard currency into the Yemeni economy and the hands of the Yemeni people, as Mark referred to. The rial needs to be stabilized to at least a 450-to-$1 ratio so people are able to buy essential things again and to get the economy rolling again.”
2018-11-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8404 (2018) · source
“One sees a dog walking here or there, and that is about the extent of it. The way we are doing food distribution right now is to give people enough for a whole month so we minimize their being on the streets, because people do not want to walk out on the streets because they are afraid they will get killed. One cannot imagine the number of people coming up to me and wanting to hug me and say "Thank you for being here". But then they would say, "Please do not leave". Because while we were there, there was no fighting. "Please do not leave. Stay a few days. Give us peace. Give us some hope." I said that I had to leave so that I could help tell the world how bad it really is and that they deserve better than this. My third point concerns the humanitarian and economic intervention is required.”
2018-11-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8404 (2018) · source
“We are looking at alternative ports in Saudi Arabia, as well as in Oman, as I mentioned, so that the pipeline will not be broken should there be a devastation of the port in Al-Hudaydah. Hostilities must stop. Not only did I go to Aden and Sana'a, but I also went to Al-Hudaydah. Let me tell the Council about visiting Al-Hudaydah. What normally is a three- or four-hour simple, nice, beautiful drive is not so beautiful and nice any more. It is double that amount of time going through checkpoint after checkpoint; bridges have been bombed and, whatever the case may be, because of the war front we are having to move and go different routes. It is quite a chore. Lise Grande and I went together. Al-Hudaydah is like a ghost town. Representatives will have seen those kind of movies where it is empty.”
2018-11-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8404 (2018) · source
“We are especially thankful for the generosity of our donors, the hard work of about 500 staff members who put their lives on the line every single day in that country, 30 cooperating partner agencies and the support of other United Nations agencies as well. The World Food Programme currently has enough food cereals in the country for two months of assistance to help about 6.8 million people. As of early November, we have several food shipments en route to various ports in the country. We have even started to use the port of Salalah, in neighbouring Oman, as a supplementary route. We are anticipating any potential catastrophic situation at any port to assure that we have alternatives in place to minimize the impact of what is already a dire situation.”
2018-11-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8404 (2018) · source
“As Mark said, once you declare famine it is way too late. Those are children and adults dying every day. They may not be yet classified as dying of famine, but we are marching towards disaster. The number has doubled in the past year and a half, and it is getting worse, largely because of the currency decline. Our monitoring systems show that there are 3.6 million more hungry people in Yemen than there were just three months ago. In the past month alone, the number of hungry people has risen by 1.6 million. I believe we do not need to wait for formal declarations about famine or even a full report to act. We must act now. I believe that because of what I saw with my very own eyes and heard this past week. Children are already dying across the country. Right now, the World Food Programme is helping about 8 million people a month in Yemen.”
2018-11-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8404 (2018) · source
“There are massive currency problems, with no incomes or access to cash. For a country that is dependent on imports for the basic needs of life, that is a disaster. Other countries that have experienced hyperinflation, such as South Sudan and Zimbabwe, can at least grow their own food, but Yemen cannot. It relies on imports. That is the primary reason why hunger is on a dramatic increase. Second is the deteriorating food security. Based on our latest assessment, we know for a fact that it is extremely dire. Of 28 million Yemenis, we believe that as many as 18 million are food insecure, but as many as or more than 12 million Yemenis - almost half of the entire country - are just one step away from famine. They are on the brink of starvation; they do not know when their next meal is coming from.”
2018-11-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8404 (2018) · source
“First, Yemen is in economic collapse. The people of Yemen have endured war for years, but what is dramatically changing the situation on the ground today is economic collapse. The value of the Yemeni rial has dropped by a staggering 235 per cent since January 2015 - from 215 rial to the United States dollar to 720, give or take. Imagine what that does to a household - two-thirds of its purchasing power is just gone. In many cases, the price of simple, basic food staples has doubled in the past eight months. That is happening while household incomes are going in the other direction. Eight million livelihoods have disappeared; 1.2 million civil servants are without pay or have had little financial support in the past few years. Those 1.2 million support households of about 8 million people out of the entire population of 29 million.”
2018-11-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8404 (2018) · source
“As a father, I thought it was cute and I went to tickle one little foot, hoping for a smile. But there was no smile. It was like tickling a ghost. There are no smiles, no laughter; the crying is weak; they are sick, hungry and dying. The chief doctor at the hospital told me they are getting about 50 cases a day of severely malnourished children. They only have room for 20. When I asked what they do about the other 30, he answered that they send them home to die. Four years ago, the hospital did not even have an area for malnourished children. I will focus this briefing on three main elements: first, the economic impact of the political and military crisis; secondly, the deteriorating food security situation; and thirdly, what the United Nations, the World Food Programme and other actors must to do get Yemen on its feet.”
2018-11-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8404 (2018) · source
“That little eight-month old boy's parents had driven 300 kilometres to the only hospital that had some support; they were trying to save their little boy's life. He suffered from acute malnutrition and weighed just 3.3 kilograms, which is about one-third of what a child of that age should weigh. Little Mohamed was not much more than skin and bones. Council members have seen such pictures in the news. Those are not isolated incidents; they are the reality of children throughout the country. I said that he was not much more than skin and bones, because the sad part is that little Mohamed died yesterday. It is hard to walk through a hospital. In room after room, one sees these little children dying before ones very eyes. I remember one little child whose feet were sticking out of the blanket.”
2018-11-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8404 (2018) · source
“But it is not on the brink of catastrophe - it is actually a catastrophe, and each and everyone of us has our own selves to blame. The question is: What are we going to do about it? The conditions that everyday Yemenis endure are presently only because of war. They would not exist at all if stubborn men would just sit down and talk instead of fighting. Yemen is perhaps the prime example of why the Council went on record in May recognizing the link between conflict and hunger. Let me put it in true human terms, because Council members will hear a lot about numbers today and tomorrow. But that is just not about numbers; it is about real people with names, like little Mohamed, whom I saw just two days ago in a hospital in Sana'a.”
2018-11-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8404 (2018) · source
“Mr. Beasley: I thank you, Sir, for convening this briefing on Yemen. It is good to be with my two colleagues and friends, whom I highly respect. I know that when appearing in this hallowed Chamber, one is expectedto speak in measuredtones and that points are to be made with caution. In diplomacy, often that is the best and smoothest way, but today I am not sure that is possible. I have just come from three days on the ground in Yemen, and soft words will not do justice to what is happening to the children, mothers, fathers and families in that country. What I have seen this week in Yemen is the stuff of nightmares, horror, deprivation and misery. That country of some 28 to 29 million people has been suffering for years, but now, as some would say, it is on the brink of catastrophe.”
2018-11-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8404 (2018) · source
“Let us work together to make certain that we have the access we need to provide humanitarian and development support. Until we do so, we will never solve world hunger, because hunger is directly related to conflict, and conflict is directly related to hunger. I think that Mark and I could probably answer questions for hours upon hours and speak to this issue from the heart all day long, but I wish to thank you, Madam President, for allowing us this opportunity to speak briefly and let the Council know what we are seeing out there on any given day. The Council's support is vital and critical to our continued success.”
2018-03-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8213 (2018) · source
“But the herders and the pastoralists are having to move down 1.5 kilometres with it to have vegetation for their cattle, their goats, their sheep, and that means more conflict with farmers. We are seeing that conflict continuing to destabilize the situation, and the extremist groups are trying to take advantage of it. I therefore plead with the Security Council to help us first and foremost in the wars. The Council, I believe, has a chance to do more to impact the world than in any time period in our history, because we are facing the worst humanitarian crisis in the history of the United Nations. I believe that the men and women in this Chamber, who are from various nations, may have differences on some issues, but should not have difference on all issues. Let us work together to end conflict.”
2018-03-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8213 (2018) · source
“But when we carry out the programmes effectively, sustainable development and resilience are created, giving families opportunities - not just saving lives but changing livelihoods and giving opportunities. Great things happen, and this minimizes the impact of extremist groups in these very fragile areas. Let me just give an example. When I was speaking just two weeks with the Minister of Agriculture - we all understand that there is a climate impact with regard to the greater Sahel region - I was told that the Sahara is moving down at the rate of 1.5 kilometres per year into the pasturelands, the greenlands, the croplands. What does that mean? On the surface, it may not seem that big of a deal.”
2018-03-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8213 (2018) · source
“They do not want support only in terms of saving lives but also in terms of changing lives. We reforested more than 8,000 hectares of land just last year. More than 137,000 hectares of land were rehabilitated, as well as more than 5,000 water ponds and shallow wells. More than 11,000 kilometres of roads were rebuilt and repaired, as well as feeder roads for markets and access. The point is, it is not just about feeding people, it is giving them resilience. The mothers will explain that they did not want to see their husbands join ISIS, Al-Qaida, Boko Haram or Al-Shabaab. But they will tell you also that after their little girl or their little boy had not eaten in two weeks, the husband had no choice but to join. So they yield because of conditions of vulnerability, where they do not have resilience or sustainable development.”
2018-03-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8213 (2018) · source
“We think that the Security Council, the United Nations in general and our donors around the world, our Member States, should use food as a weapon of reconstruction, a weapon of peace, a weapon for bringing people together. Let me just give some results in connection with the 10 million people that we had engaged in a food- for-asset programme. This shows what happens when sustainability and resilience are created in areas that are dramatically impacted for a variety of reasons - yes, terrorism, but also climate impact. We see drought- stricken areas in the greater Sahel region and what happens there; not just in the greater Sahel, but in Ethiopia, in Kenya, in Somalia and other places. I have yet to meet a single beneficiary who did not want to improve his or her community and life position.”
2018-03-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8213 (2018) · source
“What we are seeing, therefore, is that we have to get ahead of the curve and work together as a team with better collaboration and coordination. For example, we feed almost 80 million people on any given day, and we are feeding millions of people on any given day in the greater Sahel region. We know that last year alone, out of our 80 some odd million, more than 10 million were involved with the food-for- asset programme. What does that mean? When you feed 80-something million people a day, as Mark can tell you, you learn a lot. You listen to people; they hear things, they tell you things. They know what is going on. ISIS and terrorist groups want to use food as a weapon of recruitment, a weapon of war - as Mark was saying, a weapon of destruction.”
2018-03-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8213 (2018) · source
“As I tell my friends, if leaders today - wherever it is in the world, but particularly in Europe - think they had a problem with the migration issue, having been infiltrated by a few elements from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Sham (ISIS), from a nation of 20 million people, with ISIS moving down into the greater Sahel region - an area of 500 million people - and partnering with Boko Haram and Al-Shabaab and Al-Qaida, then they should consider that we cannot stand and continue to take the old approach to address the issues in this arena. We have got to rethink how to use humanitarian dollars more effectively, how to use development dollars more effectively to address hunger in conflict, because humanitarian aid and development are clearly related to one another.”
2018-03-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8213 (2018) · source
“The cost of feeding a Syrian inside Syria, for example, is about 50 cents per day, which is almost double the normal cost, because the cost of war creates additional transportation and logistics costs. By the way, because of conflict, we incur an additional $1 billion in extra costs in terms of just delivering food. But back to the point: 50 cents per day for feeding a Syrian in Syria, â‚¬50 per day for the total humanitarian support and costs, whether it is in Switzerland or Germany or anywhere else in Europe.”
2018-03-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8213 (2018) · source
“Let me paint a couple pictures of what I see as a worst-case scenario if we do not get ahead of the curve. This is what I said to the security conference in Munich just a few weeks ago, where I saw many members of the Council in the Chamber today. When we take a country the size of Syria, for example, with approximately 20 million people, with destabilization and conflict, we know from our studies and surveys that for every 1 per cent increase in hunger there is a 2 per cent increase in migration. What is also very clear is that a Syrian, like any other internally displaced person, will move two, three or four times inside his or her country before he or she will leave the country.”
2018-03-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8213 (2018) · source
“But what we have seen for the past three years is that the number of those who are severely hungry - those who are literally marching to the brink of starvation - has gone from 80 million people to 108 million people, 108 million people to 124 million people. We do not have enough money to feed full rations to 80 million people. The moneys of the World Food Programme are about $6 billion; we need $9 to $10 billion just to reach the 108 million people, much less the 124 million people. The question we have to ask ourselves today is, what is driving this extreme hunger rate? The answer is, as Mark clearly stipulated, human-made conflict. I speak here on behalf of the Rome-based agencies, understanding that we can in fact end world hunger by 2030, but we cannot do it as long as there is conflict.”
2018-03-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8213 (2018) · source
“There is actually no reason there should be hunger in the world today, when we have $300 trillion of available wealth. But wars and conflicts are driving hunger in a way we have never seen before. In fact, the hunger rate went up from 777 million people to 815 million people, as Council members are well aware. But what is very disturbing is that, even though we have been able to avert famine in countries like South Sudan, Somalia, Yemen and Nigeria, particularly its north-east, we now have three countries that are again on the brink of famine, and it is absolutely horrific that we were in this place.”
2018-03-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8213 (2018) · source
“Mr. Beasley: It is great, Madam President, to be with you in the digital world. It is always good to see you, Madam, and it is great to be speaking before the Security Council. It is good to hear from my friend Mark Lowcock, who is doing a greatjob. I have really come to respect him and the spirit he has in building the teams and coalitions that are necessary to confront the conflicts, the wars, the hunger and the other problems that we are facing on a day-to-day basis. When I took this role about a year ago, I visited over 36 countries, some of them multiple times, and what I have seen is good news and bad news. What we are reporting as of yesterday is extremely bad news, and as Mark was saying, there is no reason that there should ever be famine in the world today.”
2018-03-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8213 (2018) · source