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STORY: UN / YEMEN
TRT: 6:43
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / ARABIC / NATS
DATELINE: 15 AUGUST 2024, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE – NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior, United Nations Headquarters
15 AUGUST 2024, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Hans Grundberg, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen:
“I therefore call on Ansar Allah to act responsibly and compassionately towards its fellow countrymen and women and immediately and unconditionally release all UN, NGO, civil society, diplomatic mission and private sector employees as well as members of religious minorities, and refrain from further arbitrary detentions.”
4. Wide shot, Security Council
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Hans Grundberg, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen:
“What started in Israel and Gaza in October last year has drawn in several other countries, including Yemen. Despite serious efforts to shield Yemen from this regional escalation, Ansar Allah continues to attack ships in the Red Sea and the US and the UK have continued their strikes on military targets in Ansar Allah-controlled territory. This situation, which has lasted for over eight months now, is not sustainable.”
6. Wide shot, Security Council
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Hans Grundberg, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen:
“I, once again, call on the Yemeni parties, and Ansar Allah in particular, to prioritize the Yemenis. Your responsibility lies, first and foremost, with Yemen. We need to shift the focus back to Yemen and find solutions for Yemen’s problems.”
8. Wide shot, Security Council
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Hans Grundberg, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen:
“I again underscore the importance of working toward the unification of the currency, a unified central bank, and ensuring the banking sector is free from political interference. My office has prepared options and offered a clear proposal and pathway to achieve these objectives, all of which have been based on the input of the parties themselves. We continue to stand ready to support the parties to reach mutually acceptable solutions through dialogue for the benefit of all Yemenis.”
10. Wide shot, Security Council
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Lisa Doughten, Director, Financing and Partnerships Division, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs:
“I once again demand that the Houthi de facto authorities immediately release all our colleagues held in detention. And I reiterate that while they are detained, they must be treated humanely and be allowed contact with family members and legal counsel in accordance with international norms. We will continue efforts to secure their release with determination until they are all freed. We urge all Member States to exert any influence and leverage they have in support of these efforts.”
12. Wide shot, Security Council
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Lisa Doughten, Director, Financing and Partnerships Division, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs:
“The Houthi de facto authorities' recent closure of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Sana'a, and the subsequent forced entry of the office compound and taking control of UN assets, are wholly unacceptable. I join High Commissioner Türk in urging them to leave the premises immediately and return all equipment and assets.”
14. Wide shot, Security Council
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Lisa Doughten, Director, Financing and Partnerships Division, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs:
“Preventing the spread of cholera is one area in which additional funds are urgently needed. Although the UN-led multi-agency cholera response plan is currently 60 per cent funded, this was based on an initial estimate of 60,000 cholera cases between April and September 2024. Regrettably, as of the beginning of this month, the number of suspected cases across the country has swelled to more than 147,000 – a substantial increase from that initial estimate. This means current funding is only sufficient to address a quarter of these cases, leaving a significant response gap which our humanitarian partners have been struggling to fill.”
16. Wide shot, Security Council
17. SOUNDBITE (English) Lisa Doughten, Director, Financing and Partnerships Division, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs:
“The impacts of increasing food insecurity and malnutrition extend far beyond hunger. They also expose children, especially girls, to increased rates of abuse and neglect. Today, an alarming 30 per cent of girls in Yemen are forced into marriage before the age of 18 as families struggle to provide for them. And the number of children out of school – currently at a staggering 4.5 million – is likely to rise as more children are forced to leave school to help provide for their families. As we know, particularly for adolescent girls, this not only jeopardizes their futures but exposes them to greater risks of gender-based violence.”
18.Various shots, Security Council
19. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abdullah Ali Fadhel Al-Saadi, Permanent Representative of Yemen to the United Nations:
“In line with its principle of flexibility and its ongoing support for regional and international efforts to put an end to the conflict, the Government of Yemen, once again, underscores its will to not further increase the humanitarian burden and the burden of war shouldered by the Yemeni people in areas under the control of Houthi militia as a result of the unilateral policies of these militia.
20. Wide shot, Security Council
21. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abdullah Ali Fadhel Al-Saadi, Permanent Representative of Yemen to the United Nations:
“The lack of international measures that are too hesitant and beat around the bush simply encourage these militias to continue their violations and abuses against the personnel of these organizations and UN agencies. They have a flagrant disregard for the effects of what they're doing on economic and humanitarian conditions, which are already difficult in the regions under Houthi’s control. The government of Yemen, once again, calls for all seats of international organizations and UN agencies operating in Yemen to be transferred to the interim capital Aden. It is time to take that important step to preserve the safety of humanitarian personnel and indeed their lives. So we need to ensure that they can be guaranteed an environment that enables their important work, and ensure that they can provide humanitarian aid to all those in need without discrimination and safely.”
22. Wide shot, Security Council
23. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abdullah Ali Fadhel Al-Saadi, Permanent Representative of Yemen to the United Nations:
“We appeal to all brotherly countries and international crisis organizations to support Yemen's response plan so that we can meet fast humanitarian needs seen across several sectors. We invite the United Nations and the international community to continue to consider the humanitarian situation in Yemen as a priority so that we can overcome and improve current conditions and avoid a likely humanitarian disaster. We call upon the international community to provide all support possible to Yemen to ensure that lasting, holistic, comprehensive peace prevails, and to ensure that there can be a restoration of State institutions so that they can improve the humanitarian and economic conditions which continue to worsen.”
24. Wide shot, Security Council
Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, called on Ansar Allah to “act responsibly and compassionately towards its fellow countrymen and women and immediately and unconditionally release all UN, NGO, civil society, diplomatic mission and private sector employees as well as members of religious minorities, and refrain from further arbitrary detentions.”
The Special Envoy briefed the Council today (15 Aug) via a video link.
He said, “What started in Israel and Gaza in October last year has drawn in several other countries, including Yemen.”
Grundberg continued, “Despite serious efforts to shield Yemen from this regional escalation, Ansar Allah continues to attack ships in the Red Sea and the US and the UK have continued their strikes on military targets in Ansar Allah-controlled territory.”
“This situation, which has lasted for over eight months now, is not sustainable,” he reiterated.
The Special Envoy once again called on the Yemeni parties, and Ansar Allah in particular, to “prioritize the Yemenis. Your responsibility lies, first and foremost, with Yemen. We need to shift the focus back to Yemen and find solutions for Yemen’s problems.”
Grundberg also underscored the importance of working toward the unification of the currency, a unified central bank, and ensuring the banking sector is free from political interference.
He said, “My office has prepared options and offered a clear proposal and pathway to achieve these objectives, all of which have been based on the input of the parties themselves. We continue to stand ready to support the parties to reach mutually acceptable solutions through dialogue for the benefit of all Yemenis.”
For her part, senior official from Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Lisa Doughten, once again demanded that “the Houthi de facto authorities immediately release all our colleagues held in detention.”
She reiterated that “while they are detained, they must be treated humanely and be allowed contact with family members and legal counsel in accordance with international norms.”
Doughten added, “We will continue efforts to secure their release with determination until they are all freed. We urge all Member States to exert any influence and leverage they have in support of these efforts.”
The OCHA official also noted highlighted, “The Houthi de facto authorities' recent closure of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Sana'a, and the subsequent forced entry of the office compound and taking control of UN assets, are wholly unacceptable.”
She joined High Commissioner Türk in “urging them to leave the premises immediately and return all equipment and assets.”
“Preventing the spread of cholera is one area in which additional funds are urgently needed,” Doughten said.
She noted that although the UN-led multi-agency cholera response plan is currently 60 per cent funded, this was based on an initial estimate of 60,000 cholera cases between April and September 2024.
“Regrettably, as of the beginning of this month, the number of suspected cases across the country has swelled to more than 147,000 – a substantial increase from that initial estimate, the OCHA official said, explaining that “this means current funding is only sufficient to address a quarter of these cases, leaving a significant response gap which our humanitarian partners have been struggling to fill.”
“The impacts of increasing food insecurity and malnutrition extend far beyond hunger,” Doughten warned.
She said, “They also expose children, especially girls, to increased rates of abuse and neglect. Today, an alarming 30 per cent of girls in Yemen are forced into marriage before the age of 18 as families struggle to provide for them.”
According the OCHA, the number of children out of school – currently at a staggering 4.5 million – is likely to rise as more children are forced to leave school to help provide for their families.
Doughten concluded, “particularly for adolescent girls, this not only jeopardizes their futures but exposes them to greater risks of gender-based violence.”
Yemeni Ambassador Abdullah Ali Fadhel Al-Saadi told Council members, “In line with its principle of flexibility and its ongoing support for regional and international efforts to put an end to the conflict, the Government of Yemen, once again, underscores its will to not further increase the humanitarian burden and the burden of war shouldered by the Yemeni people in areas under the control of Houthi militia as a result of the unilateral policies of these militia.
Ambassador Al-Saadi also said, “The lack of international measures that are too hesitant and beat around the bush simply encourage these militias to continue their violations and abuses against the personnel of these organizations and UN agencies. They have a flagrant disregard for the effects of what they're doing on economic and humanitarian conditions, which are already difficult in the regions under Houthi’s control.”
“The government of Yemen, once again, calls for all seats of international organizations and UN agencies operating in Yemen to be transferred to the interim capital Aden. It is time to take that important step to preserve the safety of humanitarian personnel and indeed their lives. So we need to ensure that they can be guaranteed an environment that enables their important work, and ensure that they can provide humanitarian aid to all those in need without discrimination and safely,” the Yemeni Ambassador added.
Ambassador Al-Saadi also appealed to “all brotherly countries and international crisis organizations to support Yemen's response plan so that we can meet fast humanitarian needs seen across several sectors.”
He said, “We invite the United Nations and the international community to continue to consider the humanitarian situation in Yemen as a priority so that we can overcome and improve current conditions and avoid a likely humanitarian disaster."
The Yemeni Ambassador concluded by calling upon the international community to “provide all support possible to Yemen to ensure that lasting, holistic, comprehensive peace prevails, and to ensure that there can be a restoration of State institutions so that they can improve the humanitarian and economic conditions which continue to worsen.”
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