The Yemen government's military in a fight with the Houthis in Marib (Photo: AFP/VNA) Theevent saw the presence of Khaled Khiari,Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific in theDepartment of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations; MartinGriffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs; and HenriettaFore, Executive Director of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
Speakersnoted that military escalation has continued in many places across Yemen,especially in Marib, leading to heavy casualties, including women and children.
Theyunderscored the need for a nationwide ceasefire to resolve current deadlocksand give an impulse to the resumption of political dialogues among parties.
Withregard to the Safer oil tanker off Yemen’s coast, they urged the Houthis to letthe UN technical team access the vessel to perform duties.
Councilmember states condemned attacks against civilians, particularly women andchildren, and appealed for an end to military actions as well as efforts to be promotedto deal with the challenges facing Yemen. They called for unimpeded access tohumanitarian assistance and protection of civilians.
Manystates also urged the Houthis to cooperate with the UN to handle the issue ofthe Safer oil tanker.
Onthis occasion, they applauded the appointment of HansGrundberg, former EU Ambassador to Yemen, as the new Special Envoy ofthe UN Secretary-General for this country.
In his remarks, Quy emphasised that there is no military solution to the conflict in Yemen, and that militaryescalation is one of the biggest obstructions to the peace process in thiscountry.
He asked all parties to cooperate with Special Envoy HansGrundberg, respect the International Humanitarian Law, and implementResolution 2573, including protecting civilian infrastructure, supportingthe UNICEF appeal for upholding children’s right to education, and cooperatingwith one another to achieve sustainable and inclusive peace in Yemen.
The diplomat also urged relevant parties to step up theimplementation of the Stockholm Agreement and the Riyadh Agreement.
Also on August 23, the UN Security Council discussed theHaiti situation after the August 14 earthquake, which killed 2,200, injured12,000, and affected 8,000 others. The access to humanitarian aid in many areasis being hampered by security uncertainties, especially in the placescontrolled by crime gangs.
Quy offered deep condolences to Haiti in these difficult times,noting that the top priority now is to increase humanitarian relief and ensure securityfor the earthquake-hit places.
The ambassador also called on the international community to increase assistance to Haiti./.
VNA
