UN Security Council hears calls for intensified Yemen peace process
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Salma Hossein
- . May 18, 2023
- . Update: May 18, 2023 7:34 pm
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC), the body responsible for ensuring international peace and security, heard calls for increased peace efforts to establish a ceasefire and launch a political process in Yemen.
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On Wednesday, the UN Security Council held the latest meeting to discuss the current situation in Yemen. The UN called for increased efforts to put an end to the conflict and alleviate the humanitarian suffering in Yemen.
Hans Grundberg, the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, attended the meeting. He told the UN Security Council that an existing truce agreed a year ago has helped to establish overall stability in Yemen. However, he also mentioned that violence that takes place in various provinces in Yemen often leads to instability. He urged the UN Council to take decisive steps toward peace in Yemen.
Grundberg said that “the daily challenges facing Yemenis are reminders why a more comprehensive agreement between the parties is so vital.” He noted that violence occurred in Yemen’s Al-Jawf, Taiz, Marib and Saada provinces.
The UN-brokered truce was agreed a year ago. Under the ceasefire, the two Yemeni parties agreed to halt military activity in the country and allow commercial flights at Sanaa airport to resume. They also agreed to reopen the major roads connecting various provinces in Yemen. They also allowed humanitarian activities in the country.
During the UN meeting, Grundberg praised Saudi and Omani authorities for putting efforts in order to bring stability to Yemen. He said that he welcomed the efforts made by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Oman to end the conflict in Yemen.
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The UN Envoy to Yemen also urged the international parties to put more pressure on the Houthi militias and Iran as part of the peace efforts to end the humanitarian suffering of Yemenis. Edem Wosornu, the director of operations and advocacy at the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, also urged international parties to increase Yemeni peace efforts.
