Statement by Ambassador at the UN Security Council
meeting on Yemen.
Thank you, President, and my thanks to Special Envoy Grundberg
and USG Griffiths for your briefings and particularly to Martin
for his long engagement on this file.
Colleagues, as a Council, we cannot falter in our support to
Yemen, our support for an inclusive and sustainable peace, and we
should remain unified behind the Special Envoy's efforts to
secure that peace via de-escalation and ceasefire.
We therefore call on all parties to de-escalate tensions and
preserve the space for negotiations, under the UN roadmap, to
secure lasting peace and prosperity for the people of Yemen.
President, I will make three points.
First, on shipping, the United Kingdom condemns the latest Houthi
threats to extend their attacks on shipping to the Indian Ocean
and the Mediterranean Sea.
Continued escalation of maritime attacks undermines the security
and stability of Yemen, worsening the already dire humanitarian
situation. We cannot secure a sustainable peace agreement without
a conducive security environment. So we reiterate our calls on
the Houthis to respect freedom of navigation and cease their
reckless attacks on maritime shipping.
Second, there has been a notable surge in vessels that have
entered Houthi-controlled ports without reporting to UNVIM. Since
October 2023, reported violations could equate to as much as 500
truckloads of un-inspected material entering Hodeidah.
We have been clear on this issue: UNVIM is a crucial mechanism
for restricting the supply of illegal weapons entering Yemen and
we call on all vessels to comply with necessary inspections.
Third, as we heard from USG Griffiths, Yemen remains one of the
world's worst humanitarian crises and one of the largest
humanitarian responses. Aid agencies are unable to reach and
assist vulnerable people. We call on the authorities, and the de
facto authorities, to do more to enable the delivery of aid.
Last week, at the sixth Yemen Humanitarian Senior Officials
Meeting, donors committed over $790m towards Yemen's humanitarian
crisis. But more is urgently required and the UK will shortly be
announcing our pledge for 2024.
We call on others in the international community, and in the
region, to help provide funding in support of the multi-cluster
response plan outlined by USG Griffiths.
President, it's been almost a year since the Houthis unlawfully
detained members of the Baha'i community. We continue to call on
the Houthis to uphold freedom of religion or belief and
immediately and unconditionally release the remaining Baha'is in
detention.
