Media Home
UN Web TV
UN Audiovisual Library
UN PhotoUN / YEMEN
Download
There is no media available to download.
Share
STORY: UN / YEMEN
TRT: 02:33
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ARABIC / ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 12 JANUARY 2022, NEW YORK CITY
FILE – NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, UN headquarters exterior
12 JANUARY 2022, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Hans Grundberg, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, United Nations:
“I will continue to stress that warring parties can, should, and indeed must talk even if they are not ready to put down their arms.”
4. Wide shot, Council
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Hans Grundberg, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, United Nations:
“Ansar Allah remains determined to continue its assault on Marib and there is renewed fighting in Shabwa, where three districts have been captured from Ansar Allah. We have seen an increase of airstrikes not only around frontlines, but also in Sana’a, including in residential areas. Airstrikes and shelling in Taiz have increased and fighting continues in southern Hodeidah. Similarly, attacks on Saudi Arabia have also increased. All of these events have led to increased civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure.”
6. Wide shot, Council
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Hans Grundberg, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, United Nations:
“I remain convinced that part of the challenge is that the parties’ preconditions are linked to broader political and governance questions, and as such, a comprehensive political solution is necessary to achieve sustainable results. This will require difficult discussions with and among the warring parties and those who have been left out during the war. I will nevertheless continue to explore options for fast-tracking de-escalation, if and when the parties are ready to pursue these options.”
8. Med shot, Yemen Ambassador
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Ramesh Rajasingham, Acting Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, United Nations:
“Humanitarian aid – no matter how effective or inclusive – cannot by itself solve the crisis in Yemen. As I’ve said before, economic collapse, accelerated by the conflict, is the biggest driver of people’s needs. The UN economic framework lays out a way to strengthen the economy and deliver lasting improvements in people’s lives right now. This requires a mix of financial and political commitments that, together, could quickly reduce the scale of humanitarian needs.”
10. Wide shot, Council
11. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abdullah al-Saadi, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Yemen: “The barbaric offense by the Houthi militias on Marib - which represents the last resort for millions of displaced persons, the resulting grave consequences on the local population and the displaced, the compounding of the already dire humanitarian situation, and the creation of more forced displacement - including the displacement of 26,000 families consisting of 157,000 people last month, 80 percent of whom are women and children, is indisputable proof that the Houthi militias are not going to cease their identity of murder and destruction and the escalation of the humanitarian crisis, amid a deafening silence by the international community.”
12. Wide shot, end of session
Addressing the Security Council today (12 Jan) via teleconference, UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg stressed “there is no sustainable long-term solution to be found on the battlefield,” and “warring parties can, should, and indeed must talk even if they are not ready to put down their arms.”
Grundberg highlighted the military escalations in recent weeks “have been among the worst we have seen in Yemen for years,” and “are taking an increasing toll on civilian lives.”
The Special Envoy spotlighted assaults on Marib, airstrikes in Taiz, and the crucial port city of Hudaydah, increased attacks on Saudi Arabia and the recent seizure by Houthi forces, known as Ansar Allah, of an Emirati-flagged ship.
He said, “part of the challenge is that the parties’ preconditions are linked to broader political and governance questions, and as such, a comprehensive political solution is necessary to achieve sustainable results.”
UN Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator Ramesh Rajasingham enumerated a series of hardships, from 15,000 displaced people over the past month to an alarming increase in clashes, which left 358 civilians reportedly dead or injured in December.
“The war is also causing hunger, displacement, economic collapse and the deterioration of basic services,” Rajasingham said.
He highlighted, “humanitarian aid – no matter how effective or inclusive – cannot by itself solve the crisis in Yemen,” and requires “a mix of financial and political commitments that, together, could quickly reduce the scale of humanitarian needs.”
Yemeni ambassador Abdullah al-Saadi told the Council that “the barbaric offense” by the Houthi militias on Marib “is indisputable proof that the Houthi militias are not going to cease their identity of murder and destruction and the escalation of the humanitarian crisis, amid a deafening silence by the international community.”
Yemeni government troops drove into Houthi-controlled areas south of the central city of Marib on Tuesday for the first time in months, a day after fully recapturing the strategic province of Shabwa from the Iran-backed militia.
