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STORY: UN / YEMEN
TRT: 3:28
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH /NATS
DATELINE: 11 NOVEMBER 2020, NEW YORK CITY
FILE
1. Exterior shot, UN Headquarters, with East River and Manhattan skuline
11 NOVEMBER 2020, NEW YORK CITY
2. Split screen, Security Council in virtual session
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Martin Griffiths, UN Special Envoy for Yemen:
“I am deeply concerned by the periodic spikes in violence between the parties particularly in Marib and Taiz, and of course the recent escalation in attacks on Saudi territory which we all believe should be stopped immediately. I hope that these spikes do not herald a return to the widespread violence that we saw earlier this year.”
4. Split screen, Security Council in virtual session
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Martin Griffiths, UN Special Envoy for Yemen:
“Overall, in terms of Hodeida I must underline that there is no better option than that ceasefire, combined with a return nationally to the political process. That is essential for the parties to create stability on all those frontlines. That is what they can bring to the Yemeni people through the Joint Declaration.”
6. Split screen, Security Council in virtual session
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Mark Lowcock, Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator:
“Yemenis are not “going hungry”. They are being starved. All of us – parties to the conflict, Security Council members, donors, humanitarian organizations and others – should do everything we can to stop this. Time is running out.”
8. Split screen, Security Council in virtual session
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Mark Lowcock, Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator:
“More money for the aid operation is the quickest and most efficient way to support famine prevention efforts right now. So, I again implore donors to fulfil outstanding pledges and to increase their support. More than 200 million dollars in pledges this year – including new funding announced in September – has still not been paid.”
10. Split screen, Security Council in virtual session
11. SOUNDBITE (English) David Beasley, Executive Director, World Food Programme:
“Since 2018, it seems like our people have just spent countless days, weeks and months negotiating with the Ansar Allah authorities for access to the areas that they control, and for permission to set up the monitoring systems that donors rightfully expect in return for their taxpayer dollars. But instead of being able to focus on getting lifesaving food assistance to the people who desperately need it, we've been spending the last two years trying to overcome these unnecessary obstructions.”
12. Split screen, Security Council in virtual session
13. SOUNDBITE (English) David Beasley, Executive Director, World Food Programme:
“We can't wait for a formal decision on famine to act. We have to stop waiting for the crisis to reach that polling point and then doing just enough to pull it back from, from the brink. It is time to start with these Band Aid solutions. So we need the authorities to continue working with us cooperate with us on efforts to restore donors’ confidence, but we also need a comprehensive funded plan, immediately to avert famine, as it's glaring at us in the face stabilize the shattered economy, support, what would be longer term development, and above all bring pressure to bear on the warring parties of silence to guns and make peace.”
14. Split screen, Security Council in virtual session
15. SOUNDBITE (English) David Beasley, Executive Director, World Food Programme:
“Let me say this very clearly: to avert famine for 2021, we will need 1.9 billion dollars. We can't nickel and dime this to death. We've got to move now and people are going to die if we don't.”
16. Split screen, Security Council in virtual session
United Nations top humanitarians warned the Security Council that “time is running out” to prevent millions of Yemenis sliding into famine.
In a virtual meeting held on Tuesday (11 Nov) the Security Council heard from Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock, and Executive Director of the World Food Programme David Beasley who in turn briefed on the dire situation in the impoverished country.
“I am deeply concerned by the periodic spikes in violence between the parties particularly in Marib and Taiz, and of course the recent escalation in attacks on Saudi territory which we all believe should be stopped immediately,” said Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths. “I hope that these spikes do not herald a return to the widespread violence that we saw earlier this year.”
Over the past months, Griffiths was involved in the shuttle diplomacy, mediating between he warring parties on the text of the Joint Declaration and the recent mutual agreement on release of detainees.
Calling on the parties to the conflict to uphold their obligations under international law to protect civilian lives and infrastructure, the Special Envoy turned to the situation in the port city Hodieda, where “there is no better option than that ceasefire, combined with a return nationally to the political process.”
Briefing on the humanitarian situation in Yemen, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator Mark Lowcock said, “Yemenis are not ‘going hungry’. They are being starved”.
Calling on “all of us” – parties to the conflict, Security Council members, donors, humanitarian organizations and others to “do everything we can to stop this,” Lowcock warned of the widening gap in funding for the UN response plan in Yemen, which is now only 45 percent funded.
“Time is running out,” Lowcock said.
According to the Humanitarian Coordinator, without sufficient funds, some nine million Yemenis could lose access to basic health services, and treatment of more than half a million malnourished children could stop.
“More money for the aid operation is the quickest and most efficient way to support famine prevention efforts right now. So, I again implore donors to fulfil outstanding pledges and to increase their support. More than 200 million dollars in pledges this year – including new funding announced in September – has still not been paid,” Lowcock said.
The head of the World Food Programme (WFP) David Beasley focused on the problems his agency has in accessing those in need in the parts of Yemen under the authority of Ansar Allah.
“Since 2018, it seems like our people have just spent countless days, weeks and months negotiating with the Ansar Allah authorities for access to the areas that they control, and for permission to set up the monitoring systems that donors rightfully expect in return for their taxpayer dollars. But instead of being able to focus on getting lifesaving food assistance to the people who desperately need it, we've been spending the last two years trying to overcome these unnecessary obstructions,” Beasley said.
The Executive Director of the WFP – the UN agency that was recently awarded the Nobel Peace Prized echoed Lowcock’s warning of imminent famine threat to Yemenis and said, “we can't wait for a formal decision on famine to act.”
“We have to stop waiting for the crisis to reach that polling point and then doing just enough to pull it back from, from the brink,” Beasley said. “It is time to stop with these Band Aid solutions.”
He called on the Yemeni authorities “to continue working with us cooperate with us on efforts to restore donors’ confidence,” and as well for creation of “a comprehensive funded plan, immediately, to avert famine, as it's glaring at us in the face stabilize the shattered economy, support, what would be longer term development, and above all bring pressure to bear on the warring parties of silence to guns and make peace.”
“Let me say this very clearly: to avert famine for 2021, we will need 1.9 billion dollars. We can't nickel and dime this to death. We've got to move now and people are going to die if we don't,” Beasley said.
