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Hans Grundberg (SESG) on the situation in Yemen - Security Council Media Stakeout
Remarks from Special Envoy Grundberg's statement after his report to the Security Council in Meeting 9692 on 23 July 2024.
"I am glad to be here with you today. I will just say a few words first about where we are with mediation in Yemen. As I just briefed the council, recent developments are bringing Yemen to a crossroads, once again. As you must have followed, Yemen’s involvement in the regional escalation just got more concerning with Ansar Allah’s drone attack against Tel Aviv last Thursday, and Israel’s attack on Al Hudaydah on Saturday. Targeting of ships in the Red Sea continues, and UK and US airstrikes against targets in Yemen continue as well. On the domestic front, the parties informed me last night that they reached an agreement on four points to de-escalate the months-long standoff on the banking sector and on the operation of Yemenia Airways. Similar to the commitments they made in December, the understanding they reached last night also underlines the commitments to convene and engage in dialogue. I told the Council that we have been here before and that previous opportunities have slipped in the past because they never translated into structured dialogue on underlying issues. I, of course, accepted to provide the parties with the all the support they asked for to implement the measures they chose for themselves. And I fully expect them to translate their stated commitment to de-escalation in accepting my Office’s invitation for a dialogue aimed at addressing the economic issues including the need for monetary policy coordination, and progressing towards a unified central bank and currency, and guarantees to ensure the independence of the central bank from political interference. Stopgap measures could serve as a band aid. But being serious about building an economy that benefits all Yemenis means that the parties also have to engage on underlying, longer-term issues. It might sound futile to stand here time and again to say the same thing over and over, but it is not. National, regional, and international stakeholders are making conscious choices. Yemen and Yemenis are the ones who pay the price for these choices. It doesn’t have to be that way. Dialogue is always available and we have been working relentlessly to bring the parties together to resolve the urgent economic issues at stake, and to sustain and secure newly open roads and coordinate the opening of new ones, to release conflict-related detainees on all sides, and to manage frontlines and make sure Yemen doesn’t slip back into large-scale violence. Convening as per our invitations doesn’t take away from the commitments they made to the roadmap or to the understanding they reached last night. They must meet and negotiate in good faith to ensure forward movement and successful implementation of the measures they agreed, and to reverse the escalatory course they have taken in recent months, quickly. For this to happen, we need an environment conducive to constructive dialogue. This includes regional de-escalation and concerted regional and international support to the path of peaceful mediation. This also means a safer operational environment where UN and civil society personnel can work without fear of being targeted. It has been almost two months since the campaign of arbitrary detentions that include 13 UN personnel and dozens from humanitarian and civil society organizations were taken by Ansar Allah, never to be heard from since. It is unacceptable and they must be released immediately and unconditionally. Thank you very much"
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