YouSaid · the spoken record

Martin Griffiths

lines on the record: 71
first: 2020-04-16
most recent: 2021-05-12
sittings or episodes: 8
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

“Journalists would freely report, and the freedom of movement would be upheld. Women would speak out and lead without risking repression. Instead of anxiety and bleakness, Yemeni youth would hold high hopes for their futures. Yemen’s State institutions would serve citizens equitably, rather than serving the narrow interests of the political elite. And differences would be resolved through partnership and dialogue. Such a future for Yemen is eminently realistic and possible. The draft agreements that my Office has put on the table would place Yemen at the beginning of that path. The outcome is in the hands of the parties. The Council has a vital role to play in supporting them and, more important, the Yemeni people, along the path towards peace.”
2020-05-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/411 (2020) · source
“I expect that by the next time I brief the Council, I will be able to report success on our negotiations. I expect the parties to adopt the agreements imminently, so that we can turn our attention to the next steps. After the agreements are adopted, the parties would swiftly resume the political process, which would be aimed at concluding an agreement to comprehensively end the conflict and outline political and security arrangements for a transitional period. The transitional period would give Yemen an opportunity to escape the misery of conflict. It would allow for the focus to shift towards reconstruction, recovery and reconciliation. It would pave the way for a future in which, instead of hunger, sickness and loss, Yemenis’ essential needs would be met, and their families would be safe.”
2020-05-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/411 (2020) · source
“Implementation would help ensure responsive governance and improved service delivery in Aden. It would also provide for the STC’s inclusion in the Government’s negotiation delegation in a resumed United Nations-led political process aimed at ending the national conflict. That is important to make the political process more inclusive. I want to raise another concerning development. On 16 April, Ansar Allah announced that it would withdraw funds from the special account at the Al-Hudaydah branch of the Central Bank of Yemen. My Office has repeatedly requested documentation from Ansar Allah that is needed to verify the special account activity. I have written to the leadership of Ansar Allah to personally reiterate that request, and we are working with both parties to find a way forward.”
2020-05-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/411 (2020) · source
“Deaths are rising daily, but nobody knows exactly why because the health system is ill-equipped to diagnose and treat people. Exceptionally heavy flooding in late April damaged infrastructure and homes, exposing ailing infrastructure and exacerbating power outages. Long-deteriorating public services are now at a breaking point. Against that precarious backdrop, the Southern Transitional Council’s (STC) declaration of 25 April is particularly troubling. I am alarmed by their subsequent steps to make local institutions in Aden answerable to them. Adding to that dreadful mix, military tensions are now rising in the south, particularly in Abyan and Socotra. I call for immediate restraint. The Government of Yemen and the STC must intensify efforts towards the urgent implementation of the Riyadh agreement.”
2020-05-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/411 (2020) · source
“The United Nations Mission to Support the Hodeidah Agreement continues to sustain dialogue with both parties, but its work is under strain. I regret to report that Colonel Muhammed Al-Sulayhi, the Government of Yemen liaison officer who was shot in March, died of his injuries. The death of Colonel Al-Sulayhi was tragic, and I extend my sincerest condolences to his family. I hope that the parties will find a way to overcome their mistrust and reactivate the Redeployment Coordination Committee and the joint mechanisms to implement the Al-Hudaydah Agreement. Furthermore, I am deeply concerned about the situation in the south, where I fear a perfect storm is brewing. The people of Aden in particular face outbreaks of COVID-19 and other diseases believed to include malaria, cholera and dengue.”
2020-05-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/411 (2020) · source
“The conflict has created an increasingly repressive environment for the media. All parties have an obligation to protect journalists and to uphold the freedom of the press. I am particularly concerned about the convictions, including death sentences, of 10 journalists by a Sana’a-based court last month. I call for the immediate release of all detained journalists. The military situation in Yemen remains extremely concerning. In my last two briefings (see S/PV.8745 and S/2020/313), I raised alarm about the battle in Ma’rib. To my dismay, hostilities there continue. We are also seeing heavy fighting in Al-Bayda and Al-Dhale’e governorates. In Al-Hudaydah, ceasefire violations continue all too often. I am particularly concerned by the regular shelling of residential areas in the city and southern districts.”
2020-05-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/411 (2020) · source
“Yemeni women have repeatedly demonstrated their leadership and activism, leading calls for a ceasefire and the release of prisoners and assisting the civilian population. I regularly consult the Yemeni Women’s Technical Advisory Group, and my Office is in contact with a diverse array of women’s organizations. Women must continue to be at the forefront of peace efforts. I am absolutely convinced of that and want to reiterate my call that the parties include women in their negotiation delegations and decision-making, in line with the outcomes of the National Dialogue Conference. Furthermore, 3 May marked World Press Freedom Day. It was a reminder of the extraordinary risks that journalists in Yemen take to do their jobs. Without their reporting, we would be in the dark about much of the real costs of the conflict.”
2020-05-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/411 (2020) · source
“Those are important indications of the willingness of the parties to make many of the compromises needed to bring peace to Yemen. Furthermore, the negotiations have benefited from concerted international and regional diplomatic support, including from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Oman, members of the Security Council and others. I am also grateful to the coalition for extending its ceasefire for the month of Ramadan. However, the people of Yemen are right to be frustrated about the slow pace of the negotiations. We all hope to see the negotiations soon come to a successful close. Women’s rights activists have shed light on the terrible consequences of the conflict for women and girls.”
2020-05-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/411 (2020) · source
“They also include a reaffirmation of the parties’ prior commitments to release conflict-related detainees. In that regard, I hope and expect that the parties will immediately move forward with an implementation plan for the large-scale releases that they already committed to in February. I am extremely frustrated that so many Yemeni families have had to wait for additional months, entirely unnecessarily, to be reunited with their loved ones. The details of implementation should not become another matter of drawn-out negotiations. The Government of Yemen has engaged very constructively with the United Nations proposals. That is extremely encouraging, and I am grateful to them. Ansar Allah has also engaged seriously and positively with the United Nations proposals.”
2020-05-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/411 (2020) · source
“However, the ceasefire is part of the broader package that needs to be agreed in full, and differences remain on some of the humanitarian and economic measures in that package. I firmly believe all those measures are necessary and overdue. They are not new issues; the United Nations has been calling for them for a long time. They are there for the people of Yemen, not for the interests of one party or another. The parties should be able to agree on how to move forward with them quickly. Those humanitarian and economic measures are also needed to help Yemen counter COVID-19, which is spreading at an unknown rate, given very low levels of testing. The measures include the creation of a joint operations cell between the parties to counter the virus, which would enable medical supplies and personnel to reach vulnerable populations.”
2020-05-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/411 (2020) · source
“In response, I shared with the Government of Yemen and Ansar Allah at the end of March draft agreements on a nationwide ceasefire, humanitarian and economic measures and the urgent resumption of the political process. Since then, I have been engaged in intensive negotiations with the parties, identifying and building on points of convergence and proposing compromise texts where differences remain. The latest versions I shared with the parties represent a balanced and realistic package. I am pleased to report that we have seen significant progress on those negotiations, in particular with respect to the ceasefire. That is the most important element. It responds directly to the calls of the Yemeni people, who desperately need a measure of calm to return to their lives.”
2020-05-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/411 (2020) · source
“I want to start by extending my warmest wishes to the people of Yemen and to Muslims across the world for the holy month of Ramadan. I come to the Council yet again to express hope instead of to report success. That is frustrating at a time when the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and a global economic downturn threaten to cause even more adversity in a country that has already experienced more than nearly any other. But I hope to illustrate to the Council today that an end to the fighting in Yemen is within close reach. The United Nations has provided a feasible road map. It is up to those with arms and power to make the decisions to achieve it. Since the Secretary-General’s March call for a ceasefire, people across Yemen have been speaking out forcefully to demand peace.”
2020-05-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/411 (2020) · source
“I know that the leaders of both parties, as well as those in the region, understand this as well as anyone. I hope that next time we meet, I can report success. I will then be calling on the Council to support the parties on the implementation of their decisions. We hope this will happen sooner than later to allow the real focus in Yemen to be countering the threat of the virus.”
2020-04-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/313 (2020) · source
“As we are all striving to maintain stability in Al-Hudaydah and achieve a nationwide ceasefire, it is important that the parties resume the work of the Redeployment Coordination Committee and the joint mechanisms. My colleague, the Head of the United Nations Mission to support the Al-Hudaydah agreement Mr. Abhijit Guha, is continuing his efforts to engage with the parties to prevent a deterioration of the situation or a spillover of the escalation from other areas. The threat of COVID-19 in Yemen requires all our attention and resources. Yemen cannot face war and a pandemic. The new battle that it faces with the virus may be all-consuming. We can do no less than stop this war and turn all our attention to this new threat. We have heard the calls from Yemenis across the country, asking all of us to make the virus our priority.”
2020-04-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/313 (2020) · source
“The heavy fighting has continued to take the lives of more innocent Yemeni civilians. I would like to call the Council’s attention to the senseless attack on the women’s section of the central prison in Taiz city on 5 April, which killed and injured many women and children. I, along with many Yemenis and United Nations officials, condemned that horrific attack and underlined once again that all civilians and civilian objects, including prisons, must be protected under international humanitarian law. In Al-Hudaydah, ceasefire violations continue on a daily basis at the same level as during my last briefing. Following the regrettable shooting and serious injury of a Government of Yemen liaison officer by a sniper, the Redeployment Coordination Committee and the joint mechanisms to implement the Al-Hudaydah Agreement have ceased to function.”
2020-04-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/313 (2020) · source
“I am grateful to both parties for the way in which they have conducted their negotiations with the United Nations. I have no doubt that both the Government of Yemen and Ansar Allah want to end this conflict. There is no doubt that the diplomatic consensus, ably catalysed and guided by the interventions of the Secretary-General, is playing a crucial and indeed central role in pushing us towards a successful conclusion. Lamentably, military activities continue on a number of fronts despite many calls from Yemenis and the international community for them to stop. I fear it will continue until we get an agreement on the United Nations’ proposals, including on a nationwide ceasefire. Ma’rib remains the centre of gravity of this war but not the only theatre. The sooner we can stop the fighting, the better.”
2020-04-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/313 (2020) · source
“Over the past two weeks, we have been in constant negotiations with the parties on the texts of those agreements, which we expect them to agree on and formally adopt in the immediate future. The pace of the negotiations has not been impeded by the need to conduct them virtually. The conversations we have had with the two parties and our consultations with the Saudi-led coalition, among other international actors, are continuous, detailed and constructive. I can report that we are making very good progress in terms of reaching consensus over the proposals, particularly on the principle of a nation-wide ceasefire. And we are redoubling our efforts to bridge the outstanding differences between the parties before we convene them at a meeting where agreements will be tabled, confirmed and published.”
2020-04-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/313 (2020) · source
“This is the time for hard decisions. None of us should underestimate the demands that are upon the leadership of both parties. The decisions needed to be taken by the two parties are of existential importance for the future of the country. Following the call of the Secretary-General, I presented proposals to the two parties. The first concerned a nation-wide ceasefire agreement. The second was on key humanitarian and economic measures, which may include releasing prisoners and detainees, opening Sana’a international airport, paying civil servant salaries, opening access roads and ensuring the entry of ships carrying essential commodities into Al-Hudaydah ports, all of which will help in the fight against COVID-19. The third proposal provides for the urgent resumption of the political process.”
2020-04-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/313 (2020) · source
“The international community has also been vocal in its support. On 8 April, the Saudi-led coalition announced a unilateral ceasefire for an initial period of two weeks. The explicit aim of the ceasefire is to create a conducive environment for the success of United Nations-led efforts for peace. I want to express my gratitude to the coalition and to the leadership of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed Bin Salman for this positive initiative. It is a clear sign of commitment to a peaceful political solution to the conflict and to supporting the efforts of the United Nations in Yemen. I am also grateful to the Security Council for its press statement of 10 April (see SC/14159), which endorsed the Secretary-General’s call and welcomed the unilateral ceasefire announced by the coalition. All eyes are now on the parties to the conflict.”
2020-04-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/313 (2020) · source
“The Government of Yemen immediately welcomed the call of the Secretary-General, as did the leadership of Ansar Allah. In addition, there was an outpouring of support from other Yemeni political leaders, as well as from civil society, including women and youth. I have been struck by how consistent and clear the message has come through over the past several weeks from people across Yemen. They want this war to end and their leaders to agree to resolve their differences through dialogue. To take but one example, I recently met virtually with the Yemeni women’s Technical Advisory Group. They were insistent that the war must stop now. They highlighted the importance of agreeing on humanitarian measures, particularly on improving freedom of movement and on releasing those detained in the war.”
2020-04-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/313 (2020) · source
“An opportunity has emerged to bring peace to Yemen. That opportunity has come as the country faces some of its toughest days. Military escalations have continued on several fronts for three months. The arrival of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic to Yemen threatens to bring deeper and more widespread suffering to the people. There cannot be a more timely moment for the two parties to commit to silencing the guns and ending the conflict through a peaceful political solution. The threat of COVID-19 has galvanized the effort towards peace among Yemenis and the international community. On 25 March, the Secretary-General made an urgent appeal for an immediate end to hostilities in Yemen and for the parties to focus on reaching a negotiated political settlement and to doing everything possible to counter COVID-19.”
2020-04-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/313 (2020) · source