Media Home
UN Web TV
UN PhotoSecurity Council
8379th Security Council Meeting: Situation in Middle East
To stem the growing threat of famine in Yemen, the international community must act urgently to unblock imports, ensure distribution of aid and counteract a lack of foreign exchange in the war-torn gulf nation, the United Nations top humanitarian affairs official told the Security Council this afternoon.
“There is now a clear and present danger of an imminent famine engulfing Yemen: much bigger than anything any professional in this field has encounter during their working lives,” Mark Lowcock, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator said in a briefing on the Yemen crisis that focused on food security.
Half the country — some 14 million people — are threatened by famine in a worst-case scenario, Mr. Lowcock said. Fighting around the key port of Hodeidah continues to choke off life-sustaining supplies, Government regulations have hampered commercial imports and the collapse of the economy means that there is no foreign exchange to pay for essential goods.
To avert catastrophe, he called on all stakeholders to urgently support a humanitarian ceasefire in and around all importation infrastructure and to do everything possible to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance as required under international law. The United Nations, as he already has indicated, is ready to play an enhanced role in ensuring the appropriate use of key facilities especially around Hodeidah.
Restrictions must be lifted and main transport routes kept open and safe so that essential aid and imports are allowed to reach their destinations, he stressed. A larger and faster injection of foreign exchange through the Central Bank is also urgently needed, along with expedited credit for trade and payment of pensioners and civil servants. Increased funding is needed to match the scale of the crisis, he added. Finally, and most importantly, he called upon belligerents to seize this moment to engage fully and openly with the Special Envoy to end the conflict.
Council members took the floor to affirm the urgency to avert famine in Yemen, with many also sounding the alarm on the other aspects of the humanitarian crisis. They also called on all parties to the conflict to respect international humanitarian law by allowing unhindered access for aid and other essential goods. While stressing that the Russian Federation will continue its unpoliticized aid to Yemen, that country’s representative also underscored that the solution lies in the political dimension.
Most speakers echoed that, asserting that only an inclusive United Nations‑led and Yemeni-owned political process can end the suffering. They called on all parties in the country to pursue that process through the United Nations Special Envoy, with Kuwait’s representative affirming the continued relevance of the Gulf Initiative in that context. Some called for greater Council pressure on the parties to bring the parties back to the negotiating table.
Yemen’s representative, emphasizing his Government’s commitment to international humanitarian and human rights law, called on the Security Council to act with strength to bring the Houthis to the negotiating table and to abide by Security Council resolutions so that his people’s suffering can end.
Describing Government strategies to decentralize humanitarian assistance so it can be distributed to those in need, he said that it has also taken measures to restore the economy through the banking system, including meeting the needs of small traders and the oil company. Actions, he added, have also been taken to neutralize the Houthi black market.
He announced that measures to control credit lines will be postponed awaiting dialogue with traders on the situation. Calling for assistance in building up foreign currency supplies, similar to what Saudi Arabia has done, he thanked that country, the United Arab Emirates and other donors, as well as the United Nations, for their assistance. He also called on all donors to meet the needs set out in the 2018 humanitarian appeal for his country.
Also speaking were representatives of the United Kingdom, China, France, Netherlands, Poland, Ethiopia, Peru, Sweden, Equatorial Guinea, Kazakhstan, Cote d’Ivoire, United States and Bolivia.
The meeting began at 3 p.m. and ended at 4:47 p.m.
