YouSaid · the spoken record

Rajasingham

lines on the record: 169
first: 2019-03-27
most recent: 2023-12-20
sittings or episodes: 13
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

“Water sanitation and nutrition supplies are essential in such a response. We also desperately need to prevent a cholera outbreak or people dying from other communicable diseases. Earlier this week, the Government of Ethiopia announced a humanitarian ceasefire. We wholeheartedly welcome this and look forward to its implementation throughout the conflict area. It is imperative that all parties to the conflict, whoever they are and wherever they are, ensure no further escalation in conflict. We cannot afford to fail in this endeavour. The affected populations in Tigray on the brink of starvation deserve no less. All groups must stop fighting to allow humanitarian aid to get through unimpeded and to protect civilians. There is no other way to achieve this.”
2021-07-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8812 (2021) · source
“Let me explain what this looks like and be clear about what exactly we are asking for. Over the past few days our colleagues in Mekelle have been able to move towards Abd Adi and Samre and from Shire teams have reached Selekleka and have travelled from Axum to Adwa. That is positive, and we now plan to dispatch convoys with humanitarian supplies to many of the areas that have been difficult for us to reach before. But we can do so for only as long as we have something to deliver. Today the World Food Programme has enough food for only 1 million people for the next month in Mekelle. That is a fraction of what we need for the 5.2 million people who need food aid. However, we have also almost run out of health, water, sanitation and other non-food items kits. Food alone does not avert a famine.”
2021-07-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8812 (2021) · source
“In the last two months 3.7 million people have received emergency assistance; 167,000 displaced persons have received non-food items; and 630,000 people have been reached by water trucks. However, it is estimated that more than 2.5 million people in rural Tigray have not had access to essential services over the last six months. That includes many of the people facing famine and is also part of the reason that they face famine. The lives of many of those people depend on our ability to reach them with food, medicine, nutrition supplies and other humanitarian assistance. We need to reach them now; not next week — now. As the Council has heard us say before, to do so we need timely, unimpeded, safe and sustained access. International humanitarian law requires all parties to a conflict to facilitate this.”
2021-07-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8812 (2021) · source
“Allegations of serious violations must be thoroughly and independently investigated by the State, and the perpetrators must be prosecuted regardless of who they are. To recall what should be already obvious to all of us, humanitarian workers must never be a target. Still, last week three humanitarian colleagues from Médecins sans Frontières were brutally and deliberately murdered in Tigray, this only weeks after aid workers from the Relief Society of Tigray and the International Committee for the Development of Peoples were killed, on 29 May and 28 April, respectively. Twelve humanitarian workers have now been killed since the start of the conflict. Despite the challenges, humanitarian actors continue to work to reach people in desperate need.”
2021-07-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8812 (2021) · source
“That is just one of many times when civilians have been killed in the eight months of conflict in Tigray. As has been widely reported by senior United Nations officials, civil society and others, we have multiple credible and widely corroborated cases of serious sexual and gender-based violence. More than 1,200 cases have been reported, with more continuing to emerge. That is likely, we fear, only a fraction of the actual cases, as stigma, shame and fear of reprisals as well as the lack of health and psychosocial services lead to underreporting. All parties to the conflict must respect their obligations under international humanitarian law. Attacks directed against civilians and indiscriminate attacks are prohibited.”
2021-07-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8812 (2021) · source
“More than 400,000 people are estimated to have crossed the threshold into famine, and another 1.8 million people are on the brink of famine. Some are suggesting that the numbers are even higher. Indeed, 33,000 children are severely malnourished. Moreover, the food insecurity crisis will continue to worsen during the impending rainy season, as food supplies are exhausted and the risk of flooding and water-borne diseases, including cholera, increases. Considering where we already are, that means that more people will certainly die if we do not reach them with humanitarian assistance. Let me also emphasize that what we are seeing in Tigray is a protection crisis. On 22 June, an air strike on a busy market in Togoga killed and injured dozens of civilians.”
2021-07-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8812 (2021) · source
“Mr. Rajasingham: Just over two weeks ago, on 15 June, we briefed the Council on famine in Tigray, with more than 350,000 people in catastrophe conditions — the worst famine situation we have seen in decades. In the short space of time since then, the situation has worsened dramatically. The Council has just heard from Under-Secretary- General DiCarlo about the political and security dynamics in Tigray and Ethiopia. What I would like to speak about is the humanitarian situation. This, I am afraid, is more alarming than when the Council was briefed two and a half weeks ago. Two million people are still displaced, and close to 5.2 million people still require humanitarian assistance — the great majority of them women and children. One of the most distressing trends is an alarming rise in food insecurity and hunger due to conflict.”
2021-07-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8812 (2021) · source
“What we would like to do, as we do in all other humanitarian operations, is to be able to operate in an impartial, neutral and independent manner. If we can have the freedom to do so from all the parties involved, both on the Syrian Government side and on the north-western Syria side, I think that we will then be able to do it. But, at this point, we need first to get it off the ground, and at the same time at this point it cannot replace the cross-border operation in terms of scale and scope.”
2021-06-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8803 (2021) · source
“Mr. Rajasingham: I thank the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation for clarifying those questions. At this point, we are registered across the region. However, the mission cannot proceed without the agreement of all the relevant parties. As is known, security is the key issue for the delivery and distribution of humanitarian assistance. We have been working very hard to secure such an agreement for over a year. A revised concept of operations has been discussed with the parties, and we hope that they will reach an agreement on all the operational details of the first mission. However, even if the cross-line convoy does proceed and they can be deployed regularly, at this point the mechanism is not large enough in scale and scope to replace the cross-border operation.”
2021-06-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8803 (2021) · source
“So perhaps, I think, with respect to the cross-border operation, the mechanisms that we have put in place and the investments that we have made allow us to be perhaps one of the most rigorously tracked humanitarian operations that we have around the globe.”
2021-06-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8803 (2021) · source
“We were not sure about the third question that was asked, by the Russian representative. However, there is one last question in terms of Hayat Tahrir Al-Shams using that area for money-laundering and that income at Bab al-Hawa is very high. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is not, obviously, in a position to speak about money- laundering, and, as I said, we do know where our aid is going. It is going to the civilians in need. The United Nations tracks its cross-border deliveries at every step, as I mentioned, from where they are dispatched to where they cross the border.”
2021-06-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8803 (2021) · source
“Humanitarian operations in the north-east were left vulnerable to such supply shortages with the loss of United Nations supply-chain support, when the Security Council’s authorization for the United Nations use of the Al-Yarubiyah border crossing expired. Our non-governmental organization (NGO) colleagues continue to remind us of the challenges that the loss of United Nations access has resulted in. One NGO informed us that it had seen stockouts of as many as 40 per cent of critical medicines in NGO-supported facilities in the north-east. They also reported that at Al-Hol camp, 30 per cent of patients with chronic diseases cannot be covered through the medications available, and similar shortages are reported in other camps. I think that I have answered the questions that were asked.”
2021-06-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8803 (2021) · source
“On health items, though, in 2020 the World Health Organization completed six road shipments in north- east Syria in addition to 13 airlifts. Some medical supplies provided by WHO were delivered to 15 hospitals and 106 primary health-care centres cross-line. However, as the Secretary-General has noted, that represents a modest proportion of total needs, and many facilities remain short of staff, supplies and equipment. Overall, though, there is not enough aid of all sorts reaching north-east Syria. Humanitarian organizations operating in the north-east reported limited functionality and capacity of health-care facilities, a lack of adequately trained medical staff and imminent stockouts of medical supplies, including critical medicine such as insulin and cardiovascular and antibacterial medicines.”
2021-06-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8803 (2021) · source
“That is why we are calling for urgent increases in funding and for all channels to reach people in need to be kept available. With respect to the impact of the Al-Yarubiyah closing, I should like to say a few words about the needs in north-east Syria, previously supported by the Al-Yarubiyah crossing. An estimated 1.8 million people require assistance in areas of north-east Syria outside of the control of the Government. More than 70 per cent of them are considered to be in extreme need, well above the national average. From Damascus most agencies have regular access to north-east Syria for non-health items, in cross-line operations by the Tabaqah crossing to warehouses in Qamishli for onward distribution to people in need. Trucks depart with aid every few days from areas controlled by the Government of Syria.”
2021-06-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8803 (2021) · source
“We track cross-border aid deliveries at every step, from when they are dispatched to when they cross the border, to when they arrive at warehouses, to when they reach distribution centres and people in need. Those rigorous monitoring and oversight measures are outlined in the report of the Secretary-General dated 14 May 2020 to the Council reviewing cross-line and cross-border operation (S/2020/401). The other question is, does cross-border aid go directly to the people who need it most? The fact that aid is being delivered to the places where needs are the highest indicates that assessment and prioritization are working as they should. The United Nations partners reach 2.4 million people on average each month through cross-border operations, yet needs are so great in north- west Syria that more assistance is needed.”
2021-06-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8803 (2021) · source
“Mr. Rajasingham: I thank you very much, Mr. President, for this opportunity to respond to some of these questions. The first question is, why is it that with record deliveries in north-west Syria, it is also the place where there is the highest number of starving people? Where has all the aid gone? There is no systematic diversion of aid in north- west Syria. We know that because the cross-border operations are among the most closely scrutinized humanitarian operations in the world. The reason that people in north-west Syria continue to suffer is not that aid has been stolen or diverted. It is that there has not been nearly enough aid to meet the massive needs, because they have no other lifeline.”
2021-06-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8803 (2021) · source
“That potential remains, both for the north-west and the north-east. I echo the Secretary-General’s call to the Security Council to help ensure that the United Nations and its humanitarian partners have every opportunity to assist people in need by extending the cross-border authorization for 12 months.”
2021-06-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8803 (2021) · source
“A cross-line operation would provide a vital addition to the cross-border lifeline, but it could by no means replace it. Even if deployed regularly, cross- line convoys could not replicate the size and scope of the cross-border operations. Cross-line operations can complement, not substitute, a well-funded cross-border operation to north-west Syria. When it comes to delivering life-saving aid to people in need across Syria, all channels should be made and kept available. The stakes are simply too high otherwise. Even with the massive United Nations response in Syria, more humanitarian access is required to reach those most in need of assistance. As the Secretary-General notes in his report, with more crossings and more funds, the United Nations can do more to help the increasing number of people in need in Syria.”
2021-06-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8803 (2021) · source
“NGOs estimate that they have capacity to meet the needs of only 300,000 people, leaving more than 1 million without food assistance. With 90 per cent of people in need requiring assistance for their survival, they would face a truly catastrophic situation. There is simply no substitute for the cross-border operation. The United Nations and its partners spare no effort to access all people in need across north-western Syria, using all possible means. The needs are simply too great not to exhaust all options. That includes attempting to reach people in need across front lines, from within Syria. Consultations continue with relevant parties to undertake such operations as soon as possible. Despite all efforts, no such mission has been able to proceed.”
2021-06-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8803 (2021) · source
“Hundreds of trucks will continue to deliver assistance to people otherwise unable to meet basic needs. Life-saving services, such as vaccinations, will continue to be provided. Humanitarian staff will continue to help manage camps for women and children with nowhere else to go. The United Nations and its partners will also continue to monitor its programmes to ensure assistance reaches people in need. The United Nations cross-border operation remains one of the most heavily scrutinized and monitored aid operations in the world. A failure to extend the authorization will have stark consequences. It would disrupt life-saving aid to 3.4 million people in need across the north-west, millions of whom are among the most vulnerable in Syria. Last week, a group of 42 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) warned about such a scenario.”
2021-06-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8803 (2021) · source
“Like many other health facilities, including the Al-Atarib Surgical Hospital, hit on 21 March, the location of the hospital was well known to all parties. As the Secretary-General has stressed, and as required under international humanitarian law, all allegations of serious violations must be investigated and the perpetrators must be prosecuted, where appropriate. There must be accountability for war crimes in Syria. My fifth point is on humanitarian access. The Security Council’s authorization for the United Nations cross-border operation in Syria expires on 10 July — just 17 days from now. While the Security Council deliberates, the United Nations and its partners will continue to operate, as they have since 2014, when the Security Council first authorized the humanitarian operation across borders and conflict lines.”
2021-06-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8803 (2021) · source
“The attack rendered the hospital inoperable. One missile reportedly hit the emergency room. Another landed in the delivery room, where some 350 babies were born each month. Both units were destroyed, as were the outpatient department and radiology rooms. It is not the first time that Al-Shifa hospital has come under attack, but it is the most recent attack in a long pattern that endangers patients and medical workers and jeopardizes health care in the long term. It also raises serious concerns about compliance with international humanitarian law, which prohibits attacks directed against medical facilities and requires the parties to take all feasible precautions to avoid and minimize civilian harm.”
2021-06-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8803 (2021) · source
“Civilians in many parts of Syria live under constant threat, even if front lines are relatively static. Vestiges of armed conflict litter the country, and explosive remnants of war, landmines and improvised explosive devices pose a constant danger. Amid growing needs and deepening hardship, the attack that severely damaged the United Nations- supported Al-Shifa hospital in Afrin on 12 June was all the more shocking. At least 19 civilians were killed, including three children, and 40 were injured, including a child with disabilities. Among the dead were four humanitarian workers. In total, 11 hospital staff were also injured. The Al-Shifa hospital is one of the largest medical facilities in northern Syria. Before the attack, it provided an average of 15,000 medical services each month, including 250 specialized surgeries.”
2021-06-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8803 (2021) · source
“I urge all the parties concerned to find a solution that accounts for the needs of everyone in the region who depends on water from the Euphrates and its tributaries. With respect to the protection of civilians, the destructive effects of a decade of armed conflict are inescapable. In April and May, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights verified that at least 150 civilians were killed, and another 154 civilians injured in 186 incidents during hostilities. Women and children made up a significant proportion of those victims. There has been an alarming increase in hostilities in north-western Syria in the last month, which has resulted in many civilian casualties and the displacement of more than 11,000 civilians.”
2021-06-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8803 (2021) · source
“The lack of financial resources was the overwhelming reason, with 82 per cent of participants indicating that medicine was unaffordable. A shortage of medicine on the shelves was second. Essential treatments are beyond the reach of many, particularly in north-eastern Syria. My third point concerns the water crisis in Syria. As the Secretary-General just warned, Syria faces critical water shortages, especially in the north-east. The water deficit in the Euphrates basin is the worst in memory. The Tishrin and Tabaqah dams will stop functioning if the water levels become any lower, with far-reaching impacts. Nearly 5.5 million people face reduced access to drinking water. Three million people, as well as hospitals and other vital infrastructure, may lose access to electricity. The potential long-term consequences are severe.”
2021-06-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8803 (2021) · source
“In his report, the Secretary-General notes his call more than a year ago for the waiving of sanctions that may impede access to essential health supplies, COVID-19 medical support or food in Syria. The United Nations Population Fund has observed in recent months an increase in child and early marriage in north-western Syria. Desperate living conditions have led many families to marry off their daughters at a very young age. The vulnerabilities of children, especially girls, grow exponentially under such difficult conditions. In May, a nationwide survey found that a growing percentage of the population faces challenges in accessing basic health services. Access to health care remains most difficult in north-eastern Syria. Some 37 per cent of interviewed households reported not being able to purchase necessary medicines.”
2021-06-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8803 (2021) · source
“The first COVAX delivery is only sufficient for about 0.5 per cent of Syria’s people. The total delivery from the COVAX Facility is expected to cover only 20 per cent of the entire population. As the Secretary-General noted last month, equal access to vaccines, tests, medicines and supplies, including oxygen, is needed to curb transmission rates, especially among the most vulnerable population, together with sustained access and additional funding. My second point is about the impact of the economic crisis. Daily life in Syria is becoming less and less affordable. The economic crisis has profound consequences for people throughout the country. Across Syria, they face eroded employment opportunities; prices remain at record levels and goods and services are becoming scarcer.”
2021-06-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8803 (2021) · source
“In May, vaccines from the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX) Facility were dispatched through all available modalities — cross-line to north-eastern Syria, cross-border to north-western Syria and within Government-controlled territories. As of 20 June, more than 97,000 people had received their first dose in Government areas and the north-east. Some 26,000 people have received at least one dose in the north-west. Current vaccinations prioritize front-line health- care workers, helping to protect an essential group that has been at the highest risk. The pandemic has been severe for health-care workers. Each illness further depletes the already critically low number of doctors and nurses, at a moment when all support is needed to address the pandemic. It is important, however, not to underestimate the burden of the disease in Syria.”
2021-06-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8803 (2021) · source
“Mr. Rajasingham: Further to the Secretary- General’s remarks and his most recent report (S/2021/583), I will focus my briefing today on five points — first, the ongoing spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19); secondly, the impact of the economic crisis; thirdly, the water crisis; fourthly, the protection of civilians and, fifthly, humanitarian access, particularly as it relates to the United Nations cross-border operation. Let me begin with COVID-19. Transmission rates are high, with the actual spread likely exceeding official records. An already weak health system is overstretched. Shortages of materials and trained personnel continue to be reported. Vaccinations are under way across Syria.”
2021-06-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8803 (2021) · source
“Humanitarians have been remarkably successful in mitigating some of the worst consequences of the crisis for civilians, but only a political solution can end the crisis altogether.”
2020-03-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8745 (2020) · source
“Rapid depreciation of the rial was a key factor in pushing Yemen towards famine in 2018. The Famine Early Warning Systems Network noted last month that it anticipates a steady depreciation of the rial in the coming months and warned that the risk of famine is expected to increase due to pressure on market systems, including the exchange rate. One of the most effective solutions to the exchange rate problem has been foreign exchange injections to strengthen the currency. We need a regular programme for those injections. My last point concerns progress towards peace. Now is the time to take bold steps — such as opening Sana’a airport — that will give the people of Yemen hope that political dialogue, not war, will prevail in their country.”
2020-03-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8745 (2020) · source
“It is also an opportunity to reaffirm humanitarian principles which, in Yemen, may include donors choosing to disburse pledges in instalments as conditions for aid agencies improve. My fourth point concerns the Yemeni economy, which is a major driver of humanitarian needs. Commercial food and fuel imports continue to enter the country through all ports and in line with established averages. That is essential in a country where nearly everything must be imported. However, fewer people are able to afford what they need to survive, as the Yemeni rial remains far below its pre-crisis value. In the south, the rial is trading around 650 to the United States dollar; in the north, the rate is closer to 600. A dispute between the parties over banknotes is driving a disparity in the two rates.”
2020-03-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8745 (2020) · source
“That would disrupt core, life-saving services for millions of people, including emergency food aid, treatment for malnourished children, vaccines for children and shelter for families fleeing conflict, among others. I want to be clear that those cuts would be purely due to lack of funding. That means that even if we see sustained progress in removing obstacles to principled aid delivery, we could still find ourselves up against another crippling constraint — no money. We want to acknowledge the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for co-hosting, with the United Nations, a high- level pledging event in Riyadh planned for 2 April. The event is an opportunity to show the world’s commitment to the Yemeni people.”
2020-03-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8745 (2020) · source
“But with delays in key assessments in the north and the south, it is not yet possible to quantify any changes over the past year or to confirm whether or not there are pockets of large, unmet needs. As assessments proceed, we intend to roll over the 2019 response plan to maintain the programmes that have helped prevent famine, roll back cholera and otherwise save millions of lives. That technical roll- over will require considerable funding, although likely somewhat less than last year’s plan. We started this year on a very strong financial footing. But income projections now show more than 30 major programmes will reduce or start to close down by the end of April without additional funding.”
2020-03-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8745 (2020) · source
“Insecurity also remains a challenge in parts of the south, including several recent incidents that have affected humanitarian action. We remain grateful to the Government and local authorities for the support they are providing on those issues. My third point concerns funding for the United Nations aid operation. Large-scale humanitarian assistance has mostly managed to keep the situation stable in Yemen and everyone agrees that the underlying needs remain severe. The aid operation is saving millions of lives. More than 13 million people receive food aid and other kinds of assistance every month. Preliminary data collected over the past several weeks seems to confirm that this is having a pronounced effect on countering severe food insecurity.”
2020-03-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8745 (2020) · source
“That would devastate coastal communities in the north, as well as the fisheries and marine environment on which they depend. Neighbouring countries would also be affected. The first step to preventing such a catastrophe is the United Nations-led technical assessment, which we remain eager to undertake. Humanitarian agencies also face challenges in Government-controlled areas, although not as severe as in the north. The Government of Yemen, for example, has left 44 humanitarian projects pending approval. On average, those projects have been waiting more than five months to start. A key multisector needs assessment has also stalled again in the south due to shifting Government demands on how it should proceed. Fortunately, food security surveys have been able to move ahead and results are being analysed now.”
2020-03-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8745 (2020) · source
“We also remain clear-eyed about what remains to be done and the need to avoid backsliding on what has recently been achieved. Specifically, we are asking de facto authorities to process the 71 aid projects still pending approval. We need more monitoring missions to be approved, and we need urgent humanitarian assessments to proceed on the basis of global standards. Those points are essential if we are to maintain principled aid programmes at the scale that people need. On a related note, I would also recall the danger posed by the FSO SAFER oil tanker, where we have seen no progress. Independent technical experts recently modelled what a spill from the FSO SAFER might look like. In every scenario, nearly all the oil would wash up on the shores of Al-Hudaydah and Hajjah.”
2020-03-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8745 (2020) · source
“Necessary food security assessments, which are essential for knowing how many people need assistance, have also started in many areas in the north, albeit with some access challenges that we are trying to resolve with the authorities. The World Food Programme has reached agreement with the authorities to start the retargeting and biometric registration exercise immediately. Although senior leadership engagement is there to ensure that the agreement is followed, new conditions have emerged. It is frustrating to see last-minute issues raised at the technical level. That again puts us in discussions with the authorities after more than eight months of sustained negotiations. We have communicated to the de facto authorities from all directions the need for actions over words. We appreciate the recent steps forward.”
2020-03-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8745 (2020) · source
“Our common objective, as the Secretary-General confirmed last month, is to maintain principled aid delivery to the millions of people who depend on it to survive. To that end, we are also intensifying dialogue with the de facto authorities to ensure that the right conditions are in place to facilitate that work. We are also preparing to adjust programmes in case there are conditions that are not in place or improve only temporarily. As the Council heard last month, the de facto authorities agreed to drop their proposed 2 per cent levy on projects conducted by non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Since then, they have agreed to an acceptable format for NGO country agreements.”
2020-03-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8745 (2020) · source
“I also call on the parties, at all times, to protect civilians, in line with their obligations under international law. That includes taking constant care to spare civilians and meeting the essential needs of those who are displaced because of the fighting. My second point is equally a matter of international humanitarian law — safe, rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access. For months, we have been transparent about the severe obstacles facing principled humanitarian action in Yemen. In the north, those restrictions have become untenable. Everyone agrees that a new approach is needed and we appreciate the close cooperation with our donors and partners in setting out that approach over the past few weeks.”
2020-03-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8745 (2020) · source
“In February, 187 civilians were killed or wounded across Yemen; that is more than six people every day and an increase of 20 per cent since January. Much of that increase is due to the fighting Mr. Griffiths has just described, occurring in Al-Jawf and Ma’rib, which has displaced tens of thousands of people in the past several weeks. Nearly all civilians have fled Al-Jawf’s capital, Al-Hazm, leaving behind only the most vulnerable. Some families have moved into remote desert areas that are difficult to reach. The rest mostly head towards Ma’rib — an area already hosting more than 750,000 people forced from their homes by earlier rounds of hostilities. We again join the Special Envoy’s call for the fighting to stop now. We need a nationwide ceasefire.”
2020-03-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8745 (2020) · source
“Civilian casualties last year decreased by one-third from the 2018 figures. That is good news, but it is only part of the story. There are also several alarming trends. Children now account for one in four civilian casualties — up from one in five in 2018. More than half of all civilian casualties now occur in family homes — up from 40 per cent in 2018. In other words, violence — although killing and injuring fewer people — is now more likely to strike families in the places they should feel safest. It is no surprise that 90 per cent of those incidents result in psychosocial trauma that can last long after physical injuries heal. When we look at data from this year, we see that civilian casualties are again rising.”
2020-03-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8745 (2020) · source
“Mr. Rajasingham: As the Council has just heard from the Special Envoy, escalating hostilities in Yemen have pushed peace further away than it had seemed just six weeks ago. That is dangerous territory and we join Mr. Griffiths in his call for all parties to freeze military activities and work towards de-escalation. The renewed fighting underlines the urgency of the five priority issues on which we have briefed the Council for more than a year now: first, the protection of civilians and respect for international humanitarian law; secondly, humanitarian access and delivery; thirdly, funding for the United Nations aid operation; fourthly, the Yemeni economy and, fifthly, progress towards peace. The first issue is the protection of civilians, which is a requirement of international humanitarian law.”
2020-03-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8745 (2020) · source
“But after five years of conflict, millions of Yemenis are hoping that this time, with the support of the Security Council, peace may finally come.”
2020-01-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8704 (2020) · source
“With foreign currency reserves running very low, a first step is to establish a regular programme of foreign-exchange injections, which would, as it did in the past, help bring the exchange rate down and, by extension, make it easier for people to afford what they need to survive. It would also buy more time to resolve the currency dispute without unravelling the entire economy. We hope Yemen’s partners will consider this approach as a matter of urgency. My last point is about the progress towards peace. The Special Envoy has briefed the Council on several encouraging, if still fragile, developments. Certainly, we are closer now to peace than we were before the Stockholm Agreement last year. That does not mean peace is a foregone conclusion — far from it.”
2020-01-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8704 (2020) · source
“In Aden, rates have been reported as high as 640 rial to the United States dollar versus about 580 rial in the north. Both these figures are far higher than the 215 rate that prevailed before conflict escalated five years ago, which means that essential goods remain unaffordable for millions of people across the country. Following the Ansar Allah decree, the Government announced that payments to civil servants and retirees in the north could not be made. We estimate that about a quarter of the population rely on these payments to make ends meet. With a rapidly depreciating rial and disrupted salary payments, therefore, we are again seeing some of the key conditions that brought Yemen to the brink of famine a year ago. We must not let that happen again.”
2020-01-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8704 (2020) · source
“In December, nearly 260,000 metric tons of commercial fuel entered Al-Hudaydah — about a third more than usual and the second highest figure all year. Fuel imports have been able to recover thanks to the parties’ willingness to work with the Special Envoy to establish a new mechanism to manage these imports. We commend the parties for this work. We hope similar progress can be made regarding the Yemeni rial, which is again losing value. Recent depreciation is at least partially due to a dispute over bank notes printed after 2016. In mid-December, Ansar Allah authorities issued a decree banning use of these notes in the north. This decision is causing newer bank notes to pool in the south, and exchange rates are now diverging.”
2020-01-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8704 (2020) · source
“We are hoping these assessments can move forward in the weeks ahead. Because of our strong financial footing coming into the new year, we expect that we will be appealing for less than 2019. Altogether, we aim to assist 15.6 million people this year, which represents about half the population. To do so, we need all our donors to maintain their support. As always, flexible funding early in the year will make an enormous difference. The fourth issue is the economy. Because Yemen imports nearly everything, maintaining adequate commercial import flows is crucial to ensuring people can access the goods they need to survive. Commercial food imports have remained stable, and fuel imports have recovered since severe shortages in the north last September and October.”
2020-01-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8704 (2020) · source
“With support from humanitarian agencies, 7 million people are able to access drinking water. Some 1.2 million medical consultations take place every month, and more than 2,000 health facilities are receiving support. There are many other examples. The foregoing is only possible thanks to our generous donors, which brings me to my third point: funding for the aid operation. With nearly $3.5 billion received — or 83 per cent of our requirements and about a billion dollars more than in 2018 — last year’s response plan was relatively well resourced. This year, Yemen will remain the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. We are doing everything we can to mitigate the impact of this crisis, including adding new programmes to boost the incomes of families facing famine conditions. However, key assessments are being delayed in the north.”
2020-01-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8704 (2020) · source
“We are also seeking the Government’s support on several proposed regulations that would, we believe, hinder the delivery of humanitarian assistance. In parallel, we continue to advocate faster procedures for project approvals and importation of key assets. We look forward to continuing this dialogue. Despite all the challenges I have just described, we are still able to deliver the world’s largest aid programme in Yemen. The results speak for themselves. We pay tribute again to United Nations staff, as well as the staff of the non-governmental organizations and the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, for their incredible work. The World Food Programme and its partners are providing food assistance to more than 12 million people every month across the country.”
2020-01-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8704 (2020) · source