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STORY: UN / YEMEN
TRT: 04:02
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / ARABIC / NATS
DATELINE: 09 JULY 2025, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Med shot, exterior, United Nations
09 JULY 2025, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, delegates, Security Council
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Hans Grundberg, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, United Nations:
“We are now with grave concern seeing an escalation in the Red Sea with attacks on two commercial ships earlier this week by Ansar Allah, resulting in civilian loss of life and casualties as well as the potential for environmental damage. These were the first attacks on commercial vessels in over seven months. In response, Israeli air strikes have hit Sana’a earlier in the reporting period as well as the ports of Hudaydah, Ras Issa and Salif and a power station on Sunday.”
4. Med shot, speakers
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Hans Grundberg, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, United Nations:
“Yemen must not be drawn deeper into regional crises that threaten to unravel the already extremely fragile situation in the country. The stakes for Yemen are simply too high.”
6. Wide shot, Security Council
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Hans Grundberg, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, United Nations:
“There has been a continuation of military activity in governorates such as Al Dhale’a, Al Jawf, Ma’rib, Ta’iz and Sa’dah. I am also concerned about troop movements towards Al Dhale’a, Ma’rib and Ta’iz. I recognise that for some – on both sides of the conflict – the appetite for a military escalation remains. A military solution, however, remains a dangerous illusion that risks deep ening Yemen’s suffering.”
8. Med shot, delegates
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Hans Grundberg, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, United Nations:
“It is urgent to move forward as time is not on our side. The longer the conflict is drawn out, the more complex it becomes.”
10. Wide shot, Security Council
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Hans Grundberg, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, United Nations:
“Across Yemen, the little money people do have in their hands is either falling in value or literally falling apart.”
12. Wide shot, Security Council
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Hans Grundberg, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, United Nations:
“A positive shift towards greater stability in the region would certainly be welcome and could help create an environment for Yemen to move forward — but this cannot be a precondition for change. Yemen must advance regardless.”
14. Wide shot, Security Council
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Hans Grundberg, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, United Nations:
“I end by reiterating my call for the unconditional and immediate release by Ansar Allah of all those arbitrarily detained from the United Nations, national and international NGOs, civil society organizations, and diplomatic missions. The number of cases requiring urgent medical attention are increasing. They need access to medical assistance. They need to be home with their families. We will not let this issue drop. Our detained colleagues are not forgotten, not by me or my mission, nor by all of us in the UN working tirelessly for the sake of the Yemeni population.”
16. Wide shot, Security Council
17. SOUNDBITE (English) Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, United Nations:
“The food security crisis in Yemen has been steadily accelerating since late 2023. Today, more than 17 million people in Yemen are going hungry. That number could climb to over 18 million between September and February.”
18. Wide shot, Security Council
19. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abdullah Ali Fadhel Al-Saadi, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Yemen:
“We reaffirm that the success of any political approach to achieving peace and ending the Yemeni crisis requires addressing the roots of this crisis—particularly, the coup by the Houthi militias against the state, its constitutional institutions, the national consensus, and the aspirations of the Yemeni people—and therefore there is a need to stop the destructive approach of these militias destabilizing Yemen, the region, and the world.”
20. Wide shot, Security Council
Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen Hans Grundberg recognized that “for some – on both sides of the conflict – the appetite for a military escalation remains.”
Briefing the Security Council today (9 Jul) Grundberg said, ““We are now with grave concern seeing an escalation in the Red Sea with attacks on two commercial ships earlier this week by Ansar Allah, resulting in civilian loss of life and casualties as well as the potential for environmental damage. These were the first attacks on commercial vessels in over seven months. In response, Israeli air strikes have hit Sana’a earlier in the reporting period as well as the ports of Hudaydah, Ras Issa and Salif and a power station on Sunday.”
He added, “Yemen must not be drawn deeper into regional crises that threaten to unravel the already extremely fragile situation in the country. The stakes for Yemen are simply too high.”
He highlighted, “There has been a continuation of military activity in governorates such as Al Dhale’a, Al Jawf, Ma’rib, Ta’iz and Sa’dah. I am also concerned about troop movements towards Al Dhale’a, Ma’rib and Ta’iz. I recognise that for some – on both sides of the conflict – the appetite for a military escalation remains. A military solution, however, remains a dangerous illusion that risks deep ening Yemen’s suffering.”
He stressed, “It is urgent to move forward as time is not on our side. The longer the conflict is drawn out, the more complex it becomes.”
Turning to economy, Grundberg stated that across Yemen, “the little money people do have in their hands is either falling in value or literally falling apart.”
Grundberg stressed, “A positive shift towards greater stability in the region would certainly be welcome and could help create an environment for Yemen to move forward — but this cannot be a precondition for change. Yemen must advance regardless.”
He concluded by reiterating his call for the unconditional and immediate release “by Ansar Allah of all those arbitrarily detained from the United Nations, national and international NGOs, civil society organizations, and diplomatic missions. The number of cases requiring urgent medical attention are increasing. They need access to medical assistance. They need to be home with their families. We will not let this issue drop. Our detained colleagues are not forgotten, not by me or my mission, nor by all of us in the UN working tirelessly for the sake of the Yemeni population.”
According to the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher the food security crisis in Yemen has been steadily accelerating since late 2023.
“Today, more than 17 million people in Yemen are going hungry. That number could climb to over 18 million between September and February,” he said
Abdullah Ali Fadhel Al-Saadi, Permanent Representative of Yemen to the United Nations, stated, “We reaffirm that the success of any political approach to achieving peace and ending the Yemeni crisis requires addressing the roots of this crisis—particularly, the coup by the Houthi militias against the state, its constitutional institutions, the national consensus, and the aspirations of the Yemeni people—and therefore there is a need to stop the destructive approach of these militias destabilizing Yemen, the region, and the world.”
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