YouSaid · the spoken record

Griffiths

lines on the record: 722
first: 2018-04-17
most recent: 2023-10-18
sittings or episodes: 57
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

“Rajasingham will focus on that later — and civilian movement in the governorate. I hope that they can reach an agreement on those corridors in the coming weeks to pave the way for further discussions on the implementation of the redeployment of forces. I should note that, despite the achievements in Al-Hudaydah, the persistent restrictions on the freedom of movement of UNMHA personnel remain a concern. I raised that in Sana’a before Christmas 2019. The restrictions of UNMHA’s patrols to the city and the ports, together with their logistical and support activities, contradicts the spirit of the Stockholm Agreement, and I reiterate my call, together with those of others, for their immediate resumption.”
2020-01-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8704 (2020) · source
“The parties work together on a daily basis aboard the United Nations Mission to Support the Hodeidah Agreement (UNMHA) vessel, moored in the port of Al-Hudaydah, as well as at the joint observation posts, and continue with efforts to further the implementation of the Agreement. Although violence unfortunately continues in the southern districts of the governorate, the relative calm at the front lines in the city of Al-Hudaydah shows that the measures to enhance the de-escalation and ceasefire mechanism are working, and that is something we can and should build on. The Redeployment Coordination Committee that was established by the Agreement has engaged in discussions on a road map for opening humanitarian corridors that will improve access for humanitarian agencies — Mr.”
2020-01-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8704 (2020) · source
“Overall, that is good news, not least because it is also a starting point for opening a new page to be dominated, highlighted and shaped by sincere consultations among the Yemeni parties to reach a political solution to end the Yemeni crisis. With regard to the Stockholm Agreement, in particular as it refers to Al-Hudaydah, none of us should be satisfied with the record of its implementation, but we can take comfort in the fact that the United Nations and the parties remain committed and as active as ever in implementing the commitments they made more than a year ago in Stockholm.”
2020-01-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8704 (2020) · source
“Secondly, I would like to comment on progress in implementing the Riyadh agreement. I want to praise the Government of Yemen and the Southern Transitional Council, which made that agreement, supported by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, for their diligence and their commitment to implementing those commitments. The relative improvement in security in Aden also bodes well for their efforts. The parties‘ recommitment to time-bound measures to support the implementation of the Riyadh agreement is a very positive sign. I know first-hand that there are daily detailed negotiations, as we sit here, and I hope that we will see key appointments in Aden in the coming days. I am fairly confident that the implementation of that agreement is moving in a positive direction.”
2020-01-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8704 (2020) · source
“Since the beginning of January, there have been nine days with no air strikes at all. It is certainly and tragically true that some fronts remain active and that there are still far too many civilian deaths. Nevertheless, the movement of forces and military on the ground has been reduced. I hope that it is true and will remain so that we are witnessing one of the quietest periods of the conflict. That is no small thing, and the fact that, as I mentioned, it has been sustained even during a period of crisis is notable. These efforts should be judged not by whether they achieve a perfect ceasefire, but by whether the parties’ energies are directed thereto and away from war. Experience, however, tells us that military de-escalation cannot be sustained without political progress among the parties, and that has become the next challenge.”
2020-01-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8704 (2020) · source
“These endeavours must make progress if we are to realize the ambition that 2020 will bring peace to Yemen. I would like to draw the Council’s attention to these efforts: the de-escalation of military hostilities and the implementation of the agreements made in Stockholm and Riyadh. I would also like to refer to the efforts on the ancillary measures being undertaken by the parties, which have value in themselves, while also building confidence between the parties in their other endeavours. Where do we stand on each of these tracks? First, with regard to the de-escalation of military operations, I said to the Council in November that the air war in Yemen had been reduced by 80 per cent. This was a remarkable achievement at that time, and I think that it is even more remarkable now that it has been sustained and even improved upon.”
2020-01-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8704 (2020) · source
“I therefore hope that it is not premature to say that Yemen has emerged at this moment unscathed. This achievement has not come by chance. Yemeni leaders and leaders in the region have deliberately exercised restraint and withheld from acts of provocation. I would like to add my condolences upon the death of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said on 10 January. There is no doubt that Sultan Qaboos was an inspiring leader in the field of peace and reconciliation. I wish His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said success in leading Oman in the coming years. That will be of great importance to all of us who are focused on the issue that we will be discussing today. The regional crisis has tested the resilience of the various efforts being undertaken by the parties.”
2020-01-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8704 (2020) · source
“Mr. Griffiths: Since I last spoke to the Council (see S/PV.8672), our region has been going through a crisis, the consequences of which have threatened the gains we have been observing in Yemen. Fortunately, the immediate crisis seems to be over and I venture to say that through the actions of many people, Yemen has been kept safe from such crisis for now. This achievement — and it is a real achievement — is based on a consensus that Yemen must not be affected by regional tensions. Most importantly, at this time of crisis we have seen no major acts of military provocation in Yemen. This is remarkable. Indeed, it has been one of the quietest weeks in Yemen since the war began, with only one air strike, very limited military movement on the ground and no drone or missile attacks on neighbouring States.”
2020-01-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8704 (2020) · source
“They will need to reach an agreement on the political and security arrangements to end the fighting, and we will be there to help them to do so. They will need to lead in rebuilding the country, its economy and its social fabric, and we will all be there to make that happen. They will need to deal pragmatically with complex political challenges in a landscape that has changed dramatically during the years of conflict. Laying the groundwork to address all of these issues must start now, but we believe, as one Yemeni leader said so vividly to me, that we may soon see a return to civility in Yemen's social life.”
2019-11-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8672 (2019) · source
“We discussed together the elements of any political settlement so as to ensure that their perspectives are taken into account now, before the settlement is negotiated. They also provided evidence of the intrinsic and, I think, perhaps unique contribution that women's groups make in Yemen, as they do elsewhere, in improving local conditions during conflict. We know how important it is to include both a gender perspective and women's participation in the processes of peace. In conclusion, during my last briefing to the Council (S/PV.8642), I referred to signs ofhope in Yemen. I hope that through this brief survey I have given evidence that these signs are beginning to produce results. That means that Yemen's leaders must now ask themselves what peace should look like.”
2019-11-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8672 (2019) · source
“I suggest that Al-Hudaydah is another example of the value of creative concession supplanting the desire for victory. The United Nations Mission to Support the Hodeidah Agreement (UNMHA) has been playing a vital role in supporting the parties with the implementation of that agreement. I would therefore like to express some concern here about the increasing restrictions imposed on the movements of the Mission's personnel in Al-Hudaydah. These restrictions not only hamper the Mission's day-to-day operations, but also threaten the implementation of its mandate. I hope that the relevant authorities will take all necessary measures to ensure the freedom of movement necessary for UNMHA to carry out its mandate. In late October, my Office had the privilege of meeting for two days with 20 Yemeni women peace leaders from across the country.”
2019-11-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8672 (2019) · source
“In Al-Hudaydah, the parties have also strengthened their adherence to the ceasefire. The establishment of the ceasefire enhancement and de-escalation mechanism has enabled a reduction of the number of security incidents in the governorate; there are now 40 per cent fewer incidents than before the mechanism came into effect. Since the creation of five joint observation posts on the frontlines in Al-Hudaydah, we have also observed a decrease by approximately 80 per cent in the number of security incidents in the city. Indeed - remarkably, belatedly, but very much welcome - for several days in a row, there were no incidents in the city at all. I would like to commend, as I am sure Lieutenant General Guha will, the parties for this constructive cooperation. Both achievements are remarkable and should be noted by all of us.”
2019-11-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8672 (2019) · source
“This month, however, the Government's economic and technical team has agreed with my Office to establish a mechanism to have traders deposit the taxes and customs for commercial oil and gas shipments into a special account in the Central Bank in Al-Hudaydah, under United Nations supervision. The proceeds will go to pay the salaries of the civil servants in Al-Hudaydah and elsewhere, as set out in the Al-Hudaydah element of the Stockholm Agreement. I am grateful to both the Government and Ansar Allah for the concessions they have made to achieve significant progress on addressing this issue of port revenues and for breaking the logjam for the entry of fuel ships into Al-Hudaydah. The result is that fuel ships are now entering Al-Hudaydah and a crisis has been averted due to the creative thinking of those involved.”
2019-11-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8672 (2019) · source
“We have seen continued positive signs in Al-Hudaydah, where the parties have taken further steps forward in implementing the agreement reached in Stockholm last year. In an earlier briefing to the Council, Mark Lowcock and I both spoke of the urgent need for some creative flexibility on the part of the Government of Yemen to allow fuel ships expeditiously to enter Al-Hudaydah to avoid the crushing damage to livelihoods of a fuel shortage, the outlines of which were already visible in Sana'a and in other cities. At that time, the Government stood by its right to issue decrees for the purpose of raising taxes - a process which led to a politicized deadlock over fuel imports to Sana'a and surrounding governorates.”
2019-11-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8672 (2019) · source
“I am sure that the members of the Council agree with me. As the United Nations, we continue to uphold our responsibility to bring the parties closer to ending the conflict. What is taking place at the moment, both in the south and in the north, lays the necessary, indeed vital, groundwork for that process. The acts that we have seen translated into a reduction of the tempo in the war and an agreement on the south are the decisions of leaders who begin to see, perhaps as yet indistinctly, though clearly unmistakably, a prospect for peace. They are doing the right thing. Let us have a lot more of it. We therefore celebrate these achievements, even as we prepare for our turn at the table. My third example relates to the implementation of the Stockholm Agreement, which is now almost a year old.”
2019-11-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8672 (2019) · source
“I realize that those are short periods but nonetheless it is striking. In recent weeks, there have been entire 48-hour periods without any air strikes for the first time since the conflict began. We call this de-escalation, a reduction in the tempo of the war and perhaps, we hope, a move towards the overall ceasefire in Yemen for which Mr. Lowcock, Ms. Mueller, I am sure, and many members of the Council have been calling for a very long time. The cessation of missile and drone attacks on Saudi territory announced by Ansar Allah on 20 September has been sustained for the second month in a row. Efforts to de-escalate Violence are holding. I hope that we will all soon be able to build on that achievement. I should say here very clearly that I fully support and endorse all efforts that reduce the war in Yemen.”
2019-11-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8672 (2019) · source
“He was very positive about the prospects for a comprehensive peaceful resolution to the conflict in Yemen and made clear to me that Saudi Arabia would support efforts to make that happen soon. That was confirmed on Wednesday by Saudi Arabia's King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud in his message to the Shura Council, in which he hoped that the agreement signed in Riyadh would open the door to broader peace talks. I am grateful to the leadership of the King and that of the Crown Prince for their words of support. In what is perhaps an even more important sign that something is changing in Yemen, I would draw the Council's attention to a simple indicator of the war itself. In the past two weeks, the pace of that war has dramatically reduced. There were reportedly almost 80 per cent fewer air strikes nation-wide than in the previous two weeks.”
2019-11-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8672 (2019) · source
“The mediator, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in the best traditions of that role, praised them for their courage rather than criticizing them for the many weeks of hard work that had gone into making that moment happen. We must all thank President Hadi Mansour and the Southern Transitional Council, as well as the Saudi leadership, for this example of how to bring out the best in the parties. It should serve as a catalyst to move Yemen swiftly towards settling the conflict before us in the Council through political means. Saudi Arabia's achievement in that regard shows the positive role that regional support can play in all our efforts to achieve peace. Two weeks ago, I had the privilege to meet with the Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister, His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud.”
2019-11-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8672 (2019) · source
“A leader for peace is one who practises the art of concession and of inclusion and who encourages forbearance over entitlement. We are now seeing some evidence of that kind of leadership. In this briefing, I would like to give some examples. The Riyadh agreement, signed on 5 November between the Government of Yemen and the Southern Transitional Council, is a first example. The events of August created what I defined to the Council at the time as "an existential threat" to Yemen. The prospect of a break-up of the State was real and, frankly, terrifying. During the talks leading to the Riyadh agreement, negotiated over 86 days, leaders from opposing parties sat down and agreed to work for a greater cause.”
2019-11-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8672 (2019) · source
“Mr. Griffiths: Members of the Council may recall that, after the events in the south in August of this year, I called for decisive action to seize the opportunities available for peace in Yemen. Since then, the momentum to reach a political settlement in Yemen has been building. We have seen the parties work together with the support of Saudi Arabia, regional powers, the international community and the United Nations to achieve compromise on a range ofissues, including the situation in the south, the de-escalation of hostilities and specific economic challenges. None of those are small issues. Reaching compromises has been no small achievement by those involved. We are now beginning to see the need in Yemen for the kind of leadership that creates peace.”
2019-11-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8672 (2019) · source
“God knows that Taiz deserves some good news, so I hope an agreement comes on the heels of the promises that are being made. Finally, as I said at the outset, there are signs ofhope. We can clearly see that there are opportunities here that need to be grasped. At the same time, let us be under no illusion about the challenges and the difficulties ahead. Today we have some positive indications, and I hope that by the time the Council meets again on this issue we shall have more clarity, more certainty and more reason to hope.”
2019-10-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8642 (2019) · source
“I cannot express to the Council the full extent of my respect for Resident Coordinator Lise Grande, as well as the World Food Programme and its leader, Mr. David Beasley, whom we have been so often privileged to hear speak in the Chamber and whose staff have diligently pursued this difficult, tricky, necessary and ultimately successful task. I thank them all for making this happen. That may just be part of the daily tasks of those humanitarians, but I must say that for the people of Ad Durayhimi, this is a day of real consequence. In Taiz, we have heard reports of potential offers from both parties to open humanitarian corridors. I mention that because, of course, Taiz was one of the issues agreed upon in Sweden, precisely in order to seek such openings. I hope that those reports translate into reality.”
2019-10-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8642 (2019) · source
“That important decision has not only humanitarian consequences - which Mark has already outlined ~ but also consequences in terms of confidence. That important decision will respond to humanitarian needs. It is a good example of an issue of great humanitarian importance that can also, as I have said, potentially build vital confidence between the parties to address their differences, which, of course, is my focus. I therefore thank Mr. Hadi Mansour for that. As we speak and as I was coming to this briefing, thanks to the support of the United Nations humanitarian agencies and the concerted, detailed, difficult and ultimately positive efforts of the parties to the conflict, humanitarian assistance is, as we speak, being delivered to people in need in Ad Durayhimi.”
2019-10-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8642 (2019) · source
“I hope - and I am sure that we all do - that that step will be the start of further initiatives. We are engaged even today in talks with the parties that will facilitate the release of all detainees. I would like to use this statement to invite the parties to meet with us and our partners, including the International Committee of the Red Cross - whose President, Mr. Peter Maurer, has been just this week in Riyadh focusing on this issue - to resume at the nearest opportunity the discussions on the further releases set out, mandated, required and hoped for by the Stockholm Agreement. I am very grateful for the news Mark delivered 4 and this is not the first time either of us have referred to this issue - about President Hadi Mansour's decision to allow those fuel ships into Al-Hudaydah.”
2019-10-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8642 (2019) · source
“I think that those two parts of the strategy on Al-Hudaydah under UNMHA and its parties in the Committee will ensure our steady progress towards the achievement of the objectives of the Stockholm Agreement, which are essentially humanitarian and crucial to the success and sustainability of the humanitarian programme in Yemen. In that connection, this month - as I referred to at the beginning of my briefing - the parties have shown their strong commitment to finding some understanding on some measures that will alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people. I welcome the release of 290 detainees by the authorities in Sana'a. It was remarkable to see the joy - which we have wanted and waited to see - of the many families welcoming back their respective loved ones.”
2019-10-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8642 (2019) · source
“In that context, the leadership shown by Lieutenant General Lollesgaard, his staff and now Lieutenant General Guha in prioritizing the establishment of a joint operations centre, along with the two parties, as agreed in the meeting of the Committee on the boat in the Red Sea - on which we have already reported - has already resulted in a tangible reduction in ceasefire violations. We are confident that that process will continue. In addition, the redeployment of forces, which is so central to the Al-Hudaydah Agreement, will continue to be a primary focus.”
2019-10-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8642 (2019) · source
“God bless him for carrying out those tasks. I wish him success in his endeavour. We met when he came to the region and are in daily contact about the issues that are facing him. I am very grateful to him for taking up this opportunity under the leadership of the Secretary-General. Confidence-building is the keystone to the full implementation of the Al-Hudaydah Agreement. I would like to emphasize that the presence and work of UNMHA in Al-Hudaydah, and the ways it has tailored - sometimes subtly and sometimes radically - its operations to the needs on the ground are indeed more groundbreaking than I think many of us have realized.”
2019-10-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8642 (2019) · source
“I also welcome the reduction of violence that followed that announcement. Mark is, of course, quite right to remind us about the unconscionably high level of civilian casualties in September and, indeed, the degree of military activity on those fronts that he was referring to. That is the objective truth. It is also true, as he said, that since the beginning of October - 10 days into that initiative - the number of air strikes has fallen considerably across Yemen. I am obviously encouraged by that. It is, however, a very recent and obviously very fragile gain, but it is certainly a step in the right direction. My good friend and colleague Lieutenant General Abhijit Guha has just assumed his duty as the Head of the United Nations Mission to Support the Hodeidah Agreement (UNMHA) and Chair of the Redeployment Coordination Committee.”
2019-10-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8642 (2019) · source
“Law and order must be restored and services delivered to the people of the south. The hiatus in Government activities, particularly the disruption of basic service delivery, threatens people's lives. I would like to say that the leadership of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud is of key importance in that context, not just in the mediation that we have seen in the Jeddah talks, but also in the other contexts to which I will refer today, in trying to create new opportunities for the parties to engage with new confidence among them. I am grateful to him for that. I welcome, as I did publicly at the time it was announced on 20 September, the initiative by Ansar Allah, under the leadership of Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi, to suspend all drone and ballistic missile attacks on Saudi Arabia.”
2019-10-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8642 (2019) · source
“As I said at the outset, many of us, including myself in Riyadh, had hoped that an agreement could have been announced today. I understand that we are not quite there yet, but it certainly does seem that very significant progress was made during the Jeddah talks under the leadership of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Thanks to the Saudis' strenuous diplomatic efforts, there are encouraging signs, as I said, that an agreement aimed at resolving the issues between the Government of Yemen under President Hadi Mansour and the Southern Transitional Council may be well within reach. I am sure that it is as important to the members of the Council as it to me that this be done swiftly, as the Government needs to return safely and with full authority to Aden and State institutions must be allowed to be fully functional again with all speed.”
2019-10-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8642 (2019) · source
“They are also apparent in a growing generosity of spirit within and among the parties, which often seems lacking, in, for example, freeing some of those detained and imprisoned and finding creative ways to allow desperately needed oil ships, to which Mark also made several references, to enter Al-Hudaydah in a very impressive way over the past several days. As Mark has been telling us, they are much needed. Those are perhaps small signs in a frightening season but something for us to nurture. In the south, the situation remains volatile, but with a tenuous calm in Aden it is worth noting that there has been no large-scale fighting in the areas of dispute, despite our deep concerns in the Council beginning in August. I believe that this can be taken as a testimony to the restraint shown by those on the ground and their leaders.”
2019-10-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8642 (2019) · source
“Today, I want to claim that there are indeed signs of hope for the people of Yemen, even in the middle of the misery that Mark Lowcock described earlier with his usual accuracy and deftness and that, to those involved, must sometimes seem endless. Yes, there are signs of hope, but they are fragile and in need of our diligent care and attention. In my briefing today, I will seek to point to those signs ofhope - in the south, ofcourse, as I have already mentioned, but also in the reduction in violence very recently in the north, to which Mark Lowcock referred earlier.”
2019-10-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8642 (2019) · source
“Mr. Griffiths: I apologize for being late to this important meeting and I thank you, Mr. President, for allowing that, and Mark Lowcock for stepping forward. I am in Riyadh at the moment. We were hoping to have news by the time of this meeting on an agreement in the south, which I will talk about during this brief briefing, ifI may. I thank you once again, Sir, for this opportunity to brief the Council. In recent months, I have warned darkly of the perils facing Yemen, including the prospects for instability in the south and the frightening risks of the country being drawn into a regional conflict. I have seemed perhaps at times to have abandoned the creed of the mediator, which is to find and nurture any and all signs of hope.”
2019-10-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8642 (2019) · source
“Let us have no doubt about that. Let us have no doubt either that that will not detract from our essential focus on efforts to reach a political settlement to resolve the conflict in Yemen. I am sorry my statement was so long.”
2019-09-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8619 (2019) · source
“Those discussions, of course, will include what they consider to be the key elements that need to be included in the final agreement to be decided, debated and, hopefully, agreed between the parties in the near future. Finally, I would like to make a personal statement. I was present in Sweden when agreements were made, as we are all aware. I have a personal reason to hold those agreements very dear. Nobody needs have the slightest doubt about my desire, and our desire at the United Nations, to pursue those promises to their conclusion. I am frequently reminded, for example, that the Al-Hudaydah Agreement must be implemented before we do other things. To those people I say that the United Nations will continue, under the leadership of Abhijit Guha, to devote unparalleled time, effort and energy to achieve that objective.”
2019-09-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8619 (2019) · source
“In parallel, therefore, to the continued efforts to implement the Stockholm Agreement and not forsaking it for a minute, the Yemeni parties must move forward to resume an inclusive political process to reach a comprehensive solution to end the conflict, and that must be done without delay. We must maintain the momentum, if we are to preserve the unity and future of Yemen for its people. I will continue to intensify the engagement I have already begun with a wide range of Yemeni stakeholders in the coming weeks. As part of those efforts, I aim to start informal discussions with different stakeholders, including the representatives ofpolitical parties, but also public figures, women, youth and civil society.”
2019-09-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8619 (2019) · source
“I hope that remarks on the various aspects of the situation in Yemen - the war itself, the threat from the south, the unforeseen direction in which the ARAMCO attack will take us - have made that plain. I know from the daily and detailed discussions that I have with Yemenis, officials, young people, women and, indeed, the diplomats of those States anxious to see an end to the conflict - and they tell me clearly - that they want me to get on with my job, just as the members ofthe Council do and have made so clear in the presidential statement (S/PRST/2019/9), for which I am indeed very grateful.”
2019-09-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8619 (2019) · source
“The energy, creative will and desire to improve the conditions of families and civilians, as represented and exemplified by those groups, are remarkable. I would like to voice my support for that. I think that they will light the way for the rest of us. I hope that at a future meeting of the Council, you, Mr. President, will allow them to brief us all on the ways and means of how Yemeni civilians see resolving the conflicts that oppress them in the war. Our main goal, and their main goal, in Taiz continues to be the opening of humanitarian corridors to alleviate human suffering and allow access to humanitarian assistance. I began by saying that the case for an urgent move towards peace has never been stronger.”
2019-09-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8619 (2019) · source
“The complex military situation in Taiz, the third element agreed in Sweden in December last year, has posed serious challenges to all our frequent efforts to implement the statement of understanding, which is the title of the Agreement reached in Stockholm. However, I was encouraged by a recent statement by the Minister of Planning of Yemen to engage and be ready to help the people of Taiz, as was originally agreed. We were together in a meeting in Berlin, just a few days ago. We have not given up. I would like to do that, primarily now, through support for the local community and for women's groups and local groups that have always been so active on the same issues in Taiz, I was privileged to meet them at a seminar hosted by the European Union in Amman a few weeks ago.”
2019-09-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8619 (2019) · source
“If it were, we would have certainly followed it some time before now. As both sides are reluctant, at different times, to avow the identity, existence and location of prisoners, identifying prisoners and their location in the fog of war, not exclusively in Yemen, is desperately difficult task. That is why I have concluded, perhaps rightfully or wrongfully, that we should identify and release and then continue to identify and release and that the first batch of prisoners be followed by other batches, until we exhaust the list of all prisoners agreed between the parties. For now, that is not to be.”
2019-09-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8619 (2019) · source
“I would also like to express and reiterate my gratitude to UNMHA colleagues who continue to work under extremely difficult conditions and have maintained the level of attention and engagement and pace during the period between the departure of Lieutenant General Lollesgaard and the imminent arrival of Lieutenant General Guha. I do not have much to say today about other elements of the Agreement reached in Sweden. I have seen no breakthroughs on prisoner release - a matter made all the more tragic given the deaths in Dhamar. My proposal for the release of the first batch of prisoners was welcomed by one party but not by the other, which insisted, instead, that all prisoners everywhere must be released in one go - an interpretation of the all-for-all principle. I am afraid that is not a practical suggestion.”
2019-09-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8619 (2019) · source
“The Al-Hudaydah Agreement is moving forward - slowly perhaps, late certainly, but with purpose. My own hope is that we will continue to manage improvements in the ceasefire and prevent any major attacks in the governorate. That is the bottom line of that Agreement. Meanwhile, the parties now have in their hands the decisions about redeployments. As we have heard 4 as the Council has certainly been involved - I would like to congratulate the new Head of the United Nations Mission to Support the Hodeidah Agreement (UNMHA) and the new Chair of the Redeployment Coordination Committee, my good friend and colleague Lieutenant General Abhijit Guha. I can think of no one better qualified for that difficult, demanding and important role. I wish him every success in his position. Of course, he has my full support.”
2019-09-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8619 (2019) · source
“I welcome those concrete steps to reinforce it and improve access for the delivery of humanitarian aid. We must be reminded that the Al-Hudaydah Agreement remains a humanitarian agreement. Those shall continue to be the primary goals of the Agreement reached in Stockholm last December. On the basis also of detailed analysis in that last Redeployment Coordination Committee meeting of the issues surrounding the phase one redeployments we have all been waiting to see happen for so many months and on the basis of a proposal I presented to the Committee, the parties now have a revised proposal before them based on the discussions for their urgent consideration to allow those redeployments to take place. We expect their response by 20 September. I appeal to the parties to respond positively.”
2019-09-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8619 (2019) · source
“It is practical in the sense of an immediate, visible impact on the way that the parties operate in Al-Hudaydah. Both parties asked for that mechanism, as part of their efforts to shore up the ceasefire. I am sure that it will help to save lives. We have already seen a decrease in the number of incidents in Al-Hudaydah over the past week. I am therefore encouraged by the parties' willingness to implement further measures, including the regular meetings of the liaison offices I mentioned and their meetings in specific locations along the front lines in Al-Hudaydah, as well as the opening of key humanitarian corridors. The sustained reduction in violence, still somewhat controversial in some minds, but not in ours, has been one of the major achievements of the Al-Hudaydah Agreement so far.”
2019-09-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8619 (2019) · source
“The meeting was held in a very positive and a very pragmatic atmosphere, and I am grateful to the leadership of the parties who made this so and their representatives present on that vessel. I am very pleased to say that the tripartite ceasefire and the de-escalation mechanism are now alive and well and that a joint operations centre has already been set up and running for a full week. That mechanism, perhaps overdue, allows for greater communication between the parties with liaison officers physically present on a 24/7 basis and with contact with commanders on the ground to prevent military escalation. The tripartite mechanism is, in fact - again, way overdue - the first joint practical initiative since the Stockholm Agreement was made.”
2019-09-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8619 (2019) · source
“There is simply no argument, no choice and no better use of our energy now than to engage in that endeavour. We see the war therefore not merely continuing to wreck the lives and livelihoods of men and women in Yemen, but also threatening to metastasize into something that threatens the existence of Yemen itself. We must therefore move to end it and end it soon. Despite this admittedly very grim picture, we had some limited progress this month. Since my last briefing, the parties have taken further steps towards implementing the Stockholm Agreement. On 8 and 9 September, the parties held the sixthjoint meeting of the Redeployment Coordination Committee in the Red Sea to discuss ceasefire enhancement, disengagement from the front lines and the implementation of plan for the redeployment of forces.”
2019-09-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8619 (2019) · source
“I wish the Kingdom every success. As I said then, it is indeed the indispensable mediator and frankly it brings real meaning to the phrase that its success will be our success. I welcome the presence of delegations from the Government of Yemen, under the leadership of President Hadi Mansour, and the Southern Transitional Council in Jeddah. I can imagine and know that the Counciljoins me in wishing the Saudis, their leadership and the two delegations every success in their crucial effort to reduce this threat to Yemen's very existence. As many have said before, the lasting and resounding message from developments in the south is a clarion call for an urgent need to end the conflict in Yemen as a whole. As President Hadi told me last month, we need to make progress urgently if the war is not to expand further.”
2019-09-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8619 (2019) · source
“There is really nothing good to be said about this besides the calm I mentioned. I am of course, encouraged by the calls for peace from other groups in the southern governorates that do not want events in Aden to be repeated or to spread. Nevertheless, the risk of further fragmentation, violence and displacement is real. The status of forces and their rearmament make even the most optimistic of us cautious in judgment. I condemn, as I did last month before the Council, the unacceptable efforts of the Southern Transitional Council to take control of State institutions by force. The functioning of State institutions is a necessity and must prevail. In Jeddah, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is intensely focused on mediating a solution. We discussed this at the last meeting of the Council on this issue, on 20 August.”
2019-09-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8619 (2019) · source
“My purpose here is not to adjudicate, of course, on that decision, but the attack itself nevertheless reminds us so vividly of all that we want to bring to an end. The actions I have described make peace more difficult and, indeed, even more necessary. The second reason for my appeal is the situation in the south. Events there present to us an eerie calm. The city of Aden remains broadly under the control of the Southern Transitional Council. In neighbouring Abyan, its forces face those of the Government of Yemen. In Shabwa, further east and north, a shaky standoff has been achieved. Forces from other fronts have moved to support their respective sides in this new and dangerous crisis. Those moves, in turn, destabilize those other fronts, encouraging new military adventurism.”
2019-09-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8619 (2019) · source
“Whatever we may discover of the attack, it is a sure sign that for Yemen the direction of travel seems to be away from the peace we all seek. Every day the war goes on, the greater is the threat to regional stability, as we have seen. We need to make a bold move. It is always and inevitably invidious to choose for attention one event in a war as broad, complex and violent as the one we face in Yemen. But we do so, as I do on this occasion, to illustrate the horror of the war and thus appeal to the collective conscience, with an emphasis on the terror faced by ordinary people in Yemen on a daily basis. The attack on Dhamar on 1 September led to the deaths of approximately 110 people and the wounding of 43 more. Only a handful escaped unhurt from that building. I am well aware of the reasons put forward for this attack.”
2019-09-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8619 (2019) · source