UNITED NATIONS, Sep 16 (APP): With famine, fighting and aid worker detentions exacerbating the crisis in Yemen, Pakistan has called on all parties to break the stalemate through political will and concrete steps towards an inclusive peace process.
“The Security Council must facilitate and advance the peace process,” Ambassador Usman Jadoon, deputy permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, told the 15-member Council on Monday.
“It (the Council) must speak with one voice to end the suffering of the Yemeni people, uphold the UN Charter, and chart a path toward peace, stability, and prosperity in Yemen and the wider Middle East,” he said in a debate in the situation in Yemen.
Yemen continues to be gripped by a protracted conflict that erupted in 2014 when Ansar Allah — the Houthis — forces seized Sana’a, the capital, prompting a military intervention in 2015 by a Saudi-led coalition in support of the internationally recognized Government. Clashes between Government-aligned forces and the Houthis have persisted despite intermittent ceasefires, economic collapse, humanitarian crises, and recent cross-border and maritime attacks linked to the wider regional tensions following the escalation of hostilities in Gaza have compounded the conflict.
Opening the debate, Hans Grundberg, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen said that stability in the country cannot be separated from the wider dynamics of the region.
Yemen’s unresolved conflict is “like a fault line, sending tremors across its borders”, amplifying rivalries, while “regional instability continues to return to Yemen, fueling its divisions”, he said. In short, “Yemen is both a mirror and a magnifier of the region’s volatility”, and without addressing both tracks “neither can advance in isolation”.
Against the backdrop of the war in Gaza, Grundberg emphasized, the world faces “an alarming and dangerous intensification of hostilities between Ansar Allah and Israel”. Ansar Allah “has continued to target Israel with drones and missiles”, while Israeli strikes in Sana’a and other areas have reportedly killed civilians, including “senior Ansar Allah officials, some of whom were interlocutors of my office”.
This “escalatory cycle must end”, he stressed, adding that “if Yemen is addressed primarily through the lens of regional concerns, the voices and aspirations of the Yemenis themselves become sidelined”. The country is “dragged further from a peace process that would bring sustainable, long-term peace”. He urged the Council to “get the focus back on Yemen”.
In his remarks, the Pakistani envoy regretted that the Yemeni peace process has not made the desired progress, resulting in continued suffering of the Yemeni people.
“Political paralysis, economic collapse, and a severe humanitarian crisis have combined to create one of the world’s most serious situations,” Ambassador Jadoon said, as he drew attention to millions of people displaced, infrastructure destroyed, and essential public services crippled.
Voicing “deep concern” on the ongoing cycle of violence between the Houthis and Israel and its repercussion, he called for restraint, de-escalation and the protection of civilians. “We condemn the ongoing attacks against civilians, and civilian infrastructure, which cannot be justified under any pretext.”
The Pakistani envoy strongly condemned the continued arbitrary detentions by the Houthis, including the recent 21 United Nations personnel, as well as the forced entry into premises of the World Food Programme and UNICEF, and the seizure of UN property.
“These actions violate international law, undermine the UN’s ability to operate in Yemen and deliver the much-needed assistance,” Ambassador Jadoon said, adding, The safety of UN staff and property, and the inviolability of UN premises must be guaranteed, Ambassador Jadoon said, while demanding
the unconditional release of detained UN, NGO, humanitarian, civil society and diplomatic personnel.
Referring to the dire humanitarian situation, he pointed out that two-thirds of Yemen’s population needs help, amid rising food insecurity, widespread malnutrition and persisting outbreaks of disease.
“We urge donors and humanitarian agencies to increase funding so that aid reaches those in need without delay”.
In this regard, he underscored the need for advancing dialogue and diplomacy to safeguard peace and stability across the Middle East in accordance with the roadmap agreed in December 2023
Pakistan, he said, stands ready to work with all Council members to help forge a peaceful way forward, and reaffirm its unwavering solidarity with the Government and people of Yemen.