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STORY: UN / YEMEN
TRT: 05:55
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / ARABIC / NATS
DATELINE: 16 JUNE 2026, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, United Nations headquarters
16 JUNE 2026, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Hans Grundberg, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen:
“So far, in military terms, the fallout for Yemen of the recent conflict in the region has been relatively contained. Despite threats, we have not seen renewed attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea. And the relative calm inside Yemen since the 2022 truce has continued to hold. But Yemen’s conflict is unresolved, not over.”
4. Med shot, Abdullah Ali Fadhel Al-Saadi
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Hans Grundberg, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen:
“The recent regional conflict has increased pressure on the Yemeni economy, due to the country’s import dependence and geopolitical proximity. This is raising the cost of imported food and fuel, amplifying inflationary pressures. In recent weeks, there have been protests in Aden and other governorates over electricity shortages amid the summer heat.”
6. Med shot, Abdullah Ali Fadhel Al-Saadi
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Hans Grundberg, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen:
“Last month, the parties agreed to release over 1,600 conflict-related detainees, after 14 weeks of negotiations in Amman under United Nations auspices. This is the largest release operation agreed in the history of the conflict. These negotiations were exceptionally challenging and complex. Trust was low; negotiations stalled multiple times. It required courage and compromise. I commend the parties for their persistence to achieve this result, and I encourage them to make swift progress towards implementing the release operation, with the support of the International Committee of the Red Cross.”
8. Wide shot, Security Council
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator (OCHA):
“Yemen’s humanitarian crisis is accelerating. Hunger is rising. Our response is stretched to the limit. In just one month, the share of people unable to meet basic food needs jumped from half to nearly 60 per cent. Those facing the most extreme deprivation rose from one in four to nearly one in three. Today, more than 18 million people—over half the population—are acutely hungry. Without urgent action, this will worsen.”
10. Wide shot, Tom Fletcher speaking
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator (OCHA):
“A hunger crisis is not just empty plates. It is stolen lives and futures. More than 2.2 million children under five are acutely malnourished. Without sustained support, many will carry lifelong consequences. This is driven by a lethal combination: conflict, economic collapse, rising prices, and lost livelihoods—compounded by an overstretched health system. And just as needs rise, support is shrinking.”
12. Wide shot, Tom Fletcher speaking
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator (OCHA):
“The humanitarian appeal is less than 15 per cent funded. This is forcing us to scale back operations and leave people behind—even where we can reach them.
14. Med shot, Hans Grundberg
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator (OCHA):
“Humanitarian action can hold the line—but only just. It cannot end this crisis. Aid can keep people alive. It cannot give Yemenis the future they deserve. Only a political solution—owned by the people of Yemen and supported by this Council—can do that.”
15. Wide shot, Security Council
16. SOUNDBITE (English) Jennifer Locetta, Alternative Representative for Special Political Affairs, Permanent Mission to the United Nations, United States:
“The Houthis must be deprived of the resources used for their terrorist activities. We highlight the importance of the UN Verification and Inspection mechanism. All ships bound for Houthi-controlled ports should comply with these procedures. They were designed to ensure that delivery of humanitarian shipments does not undermine the implementation of the UN embargo adopted in the Security Council Resolution 2216. According to the UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism for Yemen, more than 70 per cent of the prohibited and restricted dual use items seized between January 2025 and April 2026 originated in China. Failure to cooperate with UN VIM inspection suggests an attempt to evade UN sanctions.”
17. Wide shot, Security Council
18. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Sun Lei, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, the People's Republic of China:
“China has consistently and strictly complied with and implemented Security Council resolutions. It has always been prudent and responsible in arms control, exercising rigorous control in accordance with its domestic and export control laws and regulations, and as well as its international obligations. The accusations made by the US against China just now are entirely unfounded and China opposes them.”
19. Wide shot, Security Council
20. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abdullah Ali Fadhel Al-Saadi, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Yemen:
“Recent developments in the region have demonstrated that the Yemeni crisis is not an internal conflict, but an open confrontation with a subversive project that directly threatens regional and international security. The Houthi militias are no longer merely the rebel group that overthrew the national consensus and the institutions of the legitimate state. They have transformed into a military arm linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, using Yemeni territory to threaten neighboring states, target international navigation, and extort the global economy — all in pursuit of improving their backers' negotiating position with no regard for the interests of the Yemeni people. These militias have repeatedly affirmed their subservience to the Iranian regime's project, culminating in their recent declaration of engagement in the defense of that regime and its allies. This confirms that a cherished part of our land has indeed become a platform for a cross-border regional project — a reality that demands the international community respond with responsibility and resolve.”
21. Wide shot, Security Council
“Yemen's conflict is unresolved, not over,” UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg told the Security Council.
Briefing the Security Council today (16 Jun) Grundberg warned that despite a relative calm holding since a 2022 truce, the country remains mired in an intractable crisis with deepening economic and humanitarian pressures.
Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen also said the recent regional conflict had increased strain on the Yemeni economy through the country's import dependence and geopolitical proximity, driving up the cost of food and fuel and amplifying inflationary pressures. “In recent weeks, there have been protests in Aden and other governorates over electricity shortages amid the summer heat,” he said.
On a rare diplomatic breakthrough, Grundberg said the parties had agreed last month to release over 1,600 conflict-related detainees following 14 weeks of UN-facilitated negotiations in Amman — the largest such release operation in the history of the conflict. “Trust was low; negotiations stalled multiple times. It required courage and compromise,” he said, urging swift implementation with support from the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher painted an alarming picture of conditions on the ground. “Yemen's humanitarian crisis is accelerating. Hunger is rising. Our response is stretched to the limit,” he said, noting that in a single month the share of people unable to meet basic food needs had jumped from half to nearly 60 per cent. More than 18 million people - over half the population - are now acutely hungry, he said.
Fletcher said the crisis was being driven by a “lethal combination” of conflict, economic collapse, rising prices and lost livelihoods, compounded by an overstretched health system. More than 2.2 million children under five are acutely malnourished, he warned. “Without sustained support, many will carry lifelong consequences.”
With the humanitarian appeal less than 15 per cent funded, Fletcher said the UN was being forced to scale back operations.
He also noted, “Aid can keep people alive. It cannot give Yemenis the future they deserve. Only a political solution - owned by the people of Yemen and supported by this Council - can do that.”
Yemen's Permanent Representative Abdullah Ali Fadhel Al-Saadi told the Council that recent regional developments had exposed the conflict as far more than an internal matter. “The Houthi militias are no longer merely the rebel group that overthrew the national consensus and the institutions of the legitimate state,” he said. “They have transformed into a military arm linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, using Yemeni territory to threaten neighboring states, target international navigation, and extort the global economy.”
Al-Saadi said the militias' declared engagement in defense of Iran and its allies confirmed that Yemeni territory had become “a platform for a cross-border regional project,” demanding the international community respond “with responsibility and resolve.”
The open briefing marked two years since the Houthis arbitrarily detained dozens of UN personnel, diplomatic staff and aid workers.
