UN / YEMEN

UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg said, “We have never given up on our detained staff, and we continue to pursue every avenue, at all levels, to resolve this issue.” UNIFEED

• Video Length: 00:03:55
• Production Date: 12 February 2026
• Asset Language: English; Arabic
• Personal Subject: HANS GRUNDBERG
• Corporate Name: UNITED NATIONS OFFICE FOR THE COORDINATION OF HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS - OCHA; OFFICE FOR THE COORDINATION OF HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS - OCHA
• Subject Topical: YEMEN SITUATION
• Geographic Subject: YEMEN
• MAMS Id: 3535154
• Parent Id: 3534724
• Alternate Title: unifeed260212a

Description

STORY: UN / YEMEN
TRT: 03:55
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / ARABIC / NATS

DATELINE: 12 FEBRUARY 2026, NEW YORK CITY / FILE

Shotlist

FILE - NEW YORK CITY

1. Wide shot, UN Headquarters

12 FEBRUARY 2026, NEW YORK CITY

2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Hans Grundberg, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, United Nations:
“There are early positive signs in government areas, including improvements in the provision of electricity and payment of public sector salaries. However, continued tensions, recent security incidents and demonstrations, where in some cases violence and loss of life has been reported, underscore the fragility of the situation. Improvements in service delivery can be reversed if security deteriorates, if economic reforms stall, or if institutions are pulled in competing directions. I am particularly concerned about recent attacks targeting media institutions and journalists, including in Aden.”
4. Wide shot, Security Council
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Hans Grundberg, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, United Nations:
“Stabilization in any part of the country will not be durable if the broader conflict in Yemen is not addressed comprehensively. It is high time to take decisive steps in that regard. Without a wider negotiated political settlement to the conflict, gains will continue to remain vulnerable to reversal.”
6. Wide shot, Security Council
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Hans Grundberg, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, United Nations:
“Today 73 UN colleagues in addition to other former UN staff are detained, along with others from civil society and diplomatic missions. Many have been held incommunicado, with serious concerns about their conditions and wellbeing. Some have been referred to Ansar Allah’s special criminal court, which is proceeding with trials that fall far short of basic due process. We have never given up on our detained staff, and we continue to pursue every avenue, at all levels, to resolve this issue. I call on Ansar Allah to unconditionally and immediately release detained staff and rescind all court referrals. I urge regional and international actors to use their influence to push for these same outcomes.”
8. Wide shot, Security Council
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Lisa Doughten, Director, Crisis Response Division, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA):
“On January 29th, the de facto authorities again entered multiple UN offices in Sana’a without permission, commandeering equipment and vehicles. The de facto authorities have also continued to withhold clearances for UN Humanitarian Air Service flights to Marib. UNHAS flights into Sana’a resumed over the weekend following a month-long suspension caused by the lack of necessary clearances from the de facto authorities.”
10. Wide shot, Security Council
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Lisa Doughten, Director, Crisis Response Division, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA):
“Such interference and impediments come at a time when the humanitarian situation is more desperate than ever. This year, 22.3 million people – or half the population – will need humanitarian assistance – an increase of 2.8 million from last year. Yemen continues to face the region's most severe hunger crisis. Today, over 18 million people face acute food insecurity. Yemen is also the country with the largest number of people – 5.5 million – experiencing IPC Phase 4 emergency food security conditions or above.”
12. Wide shot, Security Council
13. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abdullah Ali Fadhel Al-Saadi, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Yemen:
“We reiterate, now and always, that the Houthi militias continue to pose the most serious and greatest threat to the security and stability of Yemen, the region, the world, and international navigation. The peace we seek cannot be built with militias that see war, chaos, and destruction as a means of survival. We reaffirm the full commitment of the Yemeni government to strengthening its close strategic partnership with the international community to counter common threats, combat terrorism and organized crime, and protect international navigation.”
16. Wide shot, Security Council

Storyline

UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg said, “We have never given up on our detained staff, and we continue to pursue every avenue, at all levels, to resolve this issue.”

Addressing the Security Council today (12 Feb), Grundberg said that in Yemen there are early positive signs in government areas, including improvements in the provision of electricity and payment of public sector salaries.

He highlighted, “However, continued tensions, recent security incidents and demonstrations, where in some cases violence and loss of life has been reported, underscore the fragility of the situation. Improvements in service delivery can be reversed if security deteriorates, if economic reforms stall, or if institutions are pulled in competing directions. I am particularly concerned about recent attacks targeting media institutions and journalists, including in Aden.”

He stressed, “Stabilization in any part of the country will not be durable if the broader conflict in Yemen is not addressed comprehensively. It is high time to take decisive steps in that regard. Without a wider negotiated political settlement to the conflict, gains will continue to remain vulnerable to reversal.”

He also said, “Today 73 UN colleagues in addition to other former UN staff are detained, along with others from civil society and diplomatic missions. Many have been held incommunicado, with serious concerns about their conditions and wellbeing. Some have been referred to Ansar Allah’s special criminal court, which is proceeding with trials that fall far short of basic due process. We have never given up on our detained staff, and we continue to pursue every avenue, at all levels, to resolve this issue. I call on Ansar Allah to unconditionally and immediately release detained staff and rescind all court referrals. I urge regional and international actors to use their influence to push for these same outcomes.”

Lisa Doughten, Director of the Crisis Response Division of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) reported, “On January 29th, the de facto authorities again entered multiple UN offices in Sana’a without permission, commandeering equipment and vehicles. The de facto authorities have also continued to withhold clearances for UN Humanitarian Air Service flights to Marib. UNHAS flights into Sana’a resumed over the weekend following a month-long suspension caused by the lack of necessary clearances from the de facto authorities.”

She continued, “Such interference and impediments come at a time when the humanitarian situation is more desperate than ever. This year, 22.3 million people – or half the population – will need humanitarian assistance – an increase of 2.8 million from last year. Yemen continues to face the region's most severe hunger crisis. Today, over 18 million people face acute food insecurity. Yemen is also the country with the largest number of people – 5.5 million – experiencing IPC Phase 4 emergency food security conditions or above.”

Yemeni Ambassador Abdullah Ali Fadhel Al-Saadi reiterated, “now and always, that the Houthi militias continue to pose the most serious and greatest threat to the security and stability of Yemen, the region, the world, and international navigation. The peace we seek cannot be built with militias that see war, chaos, and destruction as a means of survival. We reaffirm the full commitment of the Yemeni government to strengthening its close strategic partnership with the international community to counter common threats, combat terrorism and organized crime, and protect international navigation.”