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STORY: UN / YEMEN
TRT: 04:23
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / ARABIC / NATS
DATELINE: 13 FEBRUARY 2025, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Aerial shot, exterior United Nations Headquarters
13 FEBRUARY 2025, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. Wide shot, Special Envoy Hans Grundberg speaking
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Hans Grundberg, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen:
“The deeply troubling development is the fourth wave of arbitrary detentions of United Nations staff, conducted by Ansar Allah last month. These detentions are not only a violation of fundamental human rights but also a direct threat to the United Nations’s ability to provide humanitarian assistance to millions in need. Even more deplorable is the death, while detained by Ansar Allah, of a UN colleague working for the World Food Programme.”
5. Wide shot, Grundberg speaking
6 SOUNDBITE (English) Hans Grundberg, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen:
“Regrettably, we have also seen a continuation of military activity in Yemen with reports of the movement of reinforcements and equipment towards the frontlines, and shelling, drone attacks and infiltration attempts by Ansar Allah on multiple frontlines including Abyan, al Dhale’, Lahj, Ma’rib, Sa’dah, Shabwa and Ta’iz. I call on the parties to refrain from military posturing and retaliatory measures that could lead to further tension and risk plunging Yemen back into conflict.”
7. Wide shot, Grundberg speaking
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Hans Grundberg, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen:
“Yemen stands at another critical juncture. The choices made today will determine the course of its future. A sustainable resolution to this conflict is still possible. I am not naïve; this will not be easy, it requires commitment, courage, and action from all sides. The parties must engage in good faith and take the necessary steps to turn commitments into reality. I am aware that some think that they could get a better outcome through the resumption of full-scale military operations. I want to be clear: this would be a mistake for Yemen, and a mistake for the stability in the wider region.”
9. Wide shot, Council, OCHA Chief Tom Fletcher on screen
10. Med shot, Yemeni Ambassador Abdullah Ali Fadhel Al-Saadi
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, United Nations:
“Despite significant risks, humanitarian operations across Yemen are largely continuing, but the detention – as described by the Special Envoy - of more UN staff in January has led to tough decisions regarding the ability of the UN system as a whole to deliver for those in need. UN and humanitarian partners simply cannot be expected to operate in the absence of guarantees of their safely. Faced with real risks to the safety and security of staff, we therefore been forced to temporarily pause operations in Sa’ada Governorate.”
12. Med shot, Council dais, Fletcher on screen
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, United Nations:
“Almost 20 million Yemenis are in need of our support, right now. This is a tough place for us to deliver that humanitarian support. And I recognize that it is a tough place for you to get the political judgements right. But we must be brave, principled, and unflinching in our effort to save lives.”
14. Wide shot, Council, Fletcher on screen
15. Wide shot, Al-Saadi speaking
16. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abdullah Ali Fadhel Al-Saadi, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Yemen:
“The Yemeni Government calls once again for the transfer of the headquarters of international organizations and UN agencies operating in Yemen to the temporary capital, Aden, to ensure a safe and stable environment for humanitarian workers and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance without any discrimination or hindrance.”
17. Med shot, Grundberg
18. Wide shot, Al-Saadi speaking
19. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abdullah Ali Fadhel Al-Saadi, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Yemen:
“Despite all challenges and difficulties, hope remains in the ability of the Yemeni people to overcome this crisis, to unify national efforts, to end the coup, recover state institutions and turn a new page of stability, construction and development; to build a bright future for all Yemenis based on justice, equality, dignity and respect to human rights.”
20. Wide shot, end of meeting
Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, today (13 Feb) told the Security Council that the killing of a World Food Programme (WFP) humanitarian worker in Yemen and the arbitrary detentions of other United Nations staff, conducted by Ansar Allah last month were “deeply troubling,” and “are not only a violation of fundamental human rights but also a direct threat to the United Nations’s ability to provide humanitarian assistance to millions in need.”
Grundberg noted that “regrettably, we have also seen a continuation of military activity in Yemen with reports of the movement of reinforcements and equipment towards the frontlines, and shelling, drone attacks and infiltration attempts by Ansar Allah on multiple frontlines including Abyan, al Dhale’, Lahj, Ma’rib, Sa’dah, Shabwa and Ta’iz.”
He called on the parties “to refrain from military posturing and retaliatory measures that could lead to further tension and risk plunging Yemen back into conflict.”
The Special Envoy said, “Yemen stands at another critical juncture. The choices made today will determine the course of its future. A sustainable resolution to this conflict is still possible.”
He said, “some think that they could get a better outcome through the resumption of full-scale military operations. I want to be clear: this would be a mistake for Yemen, and a mistake for the stability in the wider region.”
OCHA Chief Tom Fletcher for his part told the Council that “despite significant risks, humanitarian operations across Yemen are largely continuing,” but stressed that the detention of more UN staff in January “has led to tough decisions regarding the ability of the UN system as a whole to deliver for those in need.”
Fletcher said, “UN and humanitarian partners simply cannot be expected to operate in the absence of guarantees of their safely. Faced with real risks to the safety and security of staff, we therefore been forced to temporarily pause operations in Sa’ada Governorate.”
The humanitarian official said, “almost 20 million Yemenis are in need of our support, right now. This is a tough place for us to deliver that humanitarian support. And I recognize that it is a tough place for you to get the political judgements right. But we must be brave, principled, and unflinching in our effort to save lives.”
Also addressing the Council, Yemeni Ambassador Abdullah Ali Fadhel Al-Saadi called for “the transfer of the headquarters of international organizations and UN agencies operating in Yemen to the temporary capital, Aden, to ensure a safe and stable environment for humanitarian workers and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance without any discrimination or hindrance.”
“Despite all challenges and difficulties,” Al-Saadi said, “hope remains in the ability of the Yemeni people to overcome this crisis, to unify national efforts, to end the coup, recover state institutions and turn a new page of stability, construction and development; to build a bright future for all Yemenis based on justice, equality, dignity and respect to human rights.”
The Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, are holding dozens of personnel from the UN, national and international NGOs, civil society and diplomatic missions – some have been detained for several years.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the death of the WFP staff member and expressed solidarity with all detained colleagues and their families.
