Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Statement by Ambassador Barbara Woodward, UK Permanent Representative to the UN, at the UN Security Council meeting on Yemen.
I’ll make three points.
I want to start by highlighting the pressing humanitarian need across all of Yemen as our briefers have already done. Unimpeded humanitarian access is vital to deliver critical, lifesaving assistance to Yemenis. It is crucial that all humanitarian, UN, and diplomatic staff are free from intimidation and threats in order to operate safely and securely.
The detention of aid workers by the Houthis has continued for 130 days, and we now understand these detainees may now face a so-called judicial process.
The use of special political courts will not result in fair outcomes for the detainees. So we call again on the Houthis to immediately and unconditionally release those detained and provide an adequate operating environment for humanitarians.
We call on the international community to stand united in calling for the immediate release of those detained.
Second, as an import dependent country, commercial imports are critical to the livelihoods of the Yemeni population.
The import of weapons by the Houthis, in violation of the arms embargo, risks undermining the ability of humanitarian and commercial entities to import goods. This once again demonstrates the Houthis’ clear disregard for the wellbeing of the Yemeni people.
UNVIM is key to facilitating these vital imports. We urge international donors to work together to provide adequate and predictable funding to strengthen UNVIM’s inspection capacity and ability to prevent the flow of weapons.
Finally, we call upon the Houthis to avoid dragging Yemen into a regional conflict through its continued attacks against Israel.
It is vital that we bring an end to this cycle of violence and that the Houthis prioritise the needs of the Yemeni people. I reiterate the UK’s call for urgent regional de-escalation and progress towards sustainable peace in Yemen.