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UN / YEMEN
STORY: UN / YEMEN
TRT: 3:36
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH /ARABIC /NATS
DATELINE: 19 FEBRUARY 2019, NEW YORK CITY
FILE
1. Exterior shot, flags outside the UN Headquarters
19 FEBRUARY 2019, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. Med shot, delegates
4. Wide shot, Security Council
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Martin Griffiths, Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General for Yemen:
“There is a momentum on Yemen. The agreement reached in December of last year by the parties in Stockholm was described, I think reasonably, as a breakthrough. It was a major shift and it showed to the people of Yemen that something was indeed happening.”
6. Cutaway, delegates
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Martin Griffiths, Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General for Yemen:
“Under the leadership of Lieutenant General Michael Lollesgaard, the parties have agreed to redeploy from the ports of Saleef and Ras Isa in a first step, followed by a redeployment from Hudaydah port itself and critical parts of the city of Hudaydah associated with humanitarian facilities in Step 2. This will facilitate humanitarian access to the Red Sea Mills, where as we know, a significant tonnage of grain is waiting to be distributed to the people of Yemen.”
8. Cutaway, delegates
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Martin Griffiths, Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General for Yemen:
“Despite deadlines being missed, the parties have constantly shown their commitment to implement the agreement and have consistently assured me of that commitment. I am under no illusion about the challenges that we face. But perhaps for one day at least, we can be heartened rather than dismayed by challenges and I am heartened by both parties’ recurrent reminders to me and to my colleagues, that this is a unique opportunity.”
10. Wide shot, Security Council
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Mark Lowcock, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator:
“Conflict and a failure to respect international humanitarian law, together with the economic collapse in mid-2018, are the driving forces behind the deterioration. The most severe needs are in areas of active hostilities or with large numbers of forcibly displaced people.”
12. Wide shot, Security Council
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Mark Lowcock, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator:
“Without adequate resources, the aid operation will grind to a halt at a time when more people need more help than ever before. Humanitarian agencies aim to assist 15 million people across the country in 2019. That’s half the
population - including 12 million people who will receive emergency food assistance every month.”
14. Wide shot, Security Council
15. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abdullah Ali Fadhel Al-Saadi, Permanent Representative of Yemen to the United Nations:
“In this regard, we call on the Security Council and the international community to uphold its responsibility in saving the Hodeidah agreement; to put pressure on the Houthi militias to implement this agreement within a clear agreed timeframe; to identify the party hindering the agreement; and to ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid to all the areas under the control of Houthi militias.”
16. Wide shot, Security Council
The Special Envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, briefed the Security Council by video conference today, on what he called the significant progress made in implementing the agreements reached in Stockholm.
He welcomed the agreement on the redeployment of the parties -- first from Saleef and Ras Issa and then from the port of Hudaydah -- as a first step.
Griffiths said that despite deadlines being missed, the parties have constantly showed their commitment to the agreement.
Mark Lowcock, the Emergency Relief Coordinator, for his part presented the findings of the “2019 Humanitarian Needs Overview for Yemen” report, released last week by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
According to the report, about 80 percent of the Yemeni population – that’s about 24 million people - need humanitarian assistance and protection. Some 20 million people need help securing food, including 10 million who are just a step away from famine. Nearly 240,000 of those people are facing catastrophic levels of hunger. Almost 20 million people lack access to adequate healthcare, and nearly 18 million don’t have enough clean water or access to adequate sanitation. More than 3 million people – including 2 million children - are acutely malnourished. Some 3.3 million remain displaced from their homes, including 685,000 who have fled fighting along the west coast since June 2018.
Summing up the report, Lowcock said “conflict and a failure to respect international humanitarian law, together with the economic collapse in mid-2018, are the driving forces behind the deterioration. The most severe needs are in areas of active hostilities or with large numbers of forcibly displaced people.”
According to Lowcock, the aid agencies are running out of money and it is expected the current resources will be used by the end of March, just six weeks from now.
The Humanitarian Coordinator said “without adequate resources, the aid operation will grind to a halt at a time when more people need more help than ever before.”
He also said that the humanitarian agencies “aim to assist 15 million people across the country in 2019. That’s half the population - including 12 million people who will receive emergency food assistance every month.”
He noted next week’s meeting in Geneva on funding for Yemen and urged Member States to attend the meeting at a senior level and, of course, to pledge generously. Together, he said, we can save millions more lives in Yemen, but only if we have the resources that we need.
Yemeni ambassador Abdullah Al-Saadi said his government was committed to the Stockholm agreement and had made many compromises with aim of reaching peace, security and stability for its people, but stressed that Houthi rebels have not proven its desire for peace and its belief in dialogue.
Al-Saadi said the impediments being placed by the Houthis is proof of their disregard for the peace process and the efforts of the international community to implement what was agree upon in Stockholm.
The Yemeni ambassador called on the Security Council and the international community “to uphold its responsibility in saving the Hodeidah agreement; to put pressure on the Houthi militias to implement this agreement within a clear agreed timeframe; to identify the party hindering the agreement; and to ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid to all the areas under the control of Houthi militias.”
Earlier today, the United Nations and its humanitarian partners issued a call for $4.2 billion to help up to 19 million people in need in Yemen.
After four years of conflict, the humanitarian crisis in Yemen is the worst in the world. Since 2015, nearly 15 percent of the people in Yemen have been forced to flee their homes, the vast majority of whom are still displaced.
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