UNSC meeting on Yemen

(June 14, 2022)

INDIA STATEMENT

    Thank you Mr. President. I join other colleagues in thanking the UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg and Ms. Ghada Mudawi from the UN Office for Coordination of the Humanitarian Affairs, for their briefings. I also thank Ms. Al Salafi for her insights. 

2.    We welcome the agreement between the parties to the conflict to renew the truce for additional two months. The truce has helped reduce violence and civilian casualties. It has provided an opportunity for a first direct meeting between the parties under the UN auspices. It has also resulted in significant gains on the humanitarian side as well. 

3.    The opening of the Sana’a airport has brought immense relief to many Yemenis, in particular to those who need urgent medical care. Since the commencement of the truce, more than 2700 Yemenis have been able to travel from Sana’a airport to Jordan and Egypt and back. We appreciate the flexibility demonstrated by the Government of Yemen in facilitating these travels. Similarly, the increase in the number of fuel ships entering Hudaydah port is a welcome development. At a time of global oil price rise, entry of these ships has alleviated the suffering of millions of Yemenis.

4.    The ceasefire has also enabled the humanitarian agencies to scale up and deliver aid to areas that were hitherto inaccessible to them due to the fighting. We welcome these positive developments and encourage the parties to build on them to convert the ceasefire into a durable and long-lasting ceasefire.

5.    Despite these developments, the economic and humanitarian situation in Yemen continue to face significant challenges. The international community must continue its support to the Government of Yemen to help them overcome these challenges.

Mr. President,

6.    I would like to highlight three issues that are critical to sustain the continued cessation of hostilities in Yemen.

First, the full and meaningful implementation of all measures agreed as part of the truce agreement is necessary. While there has been considerable progress in the delivery of fuel at Hudaydah port and opening of Sana’a airport, the opening of roads in Taiz has not witnessed much progress. Immediate progress in opening of the roads is not only a humanitarian imperative, but also extremely important to ensure that the implementation of the truce agreement is not lopsided.

Second, the smooth functioning of the Military Coordination Committee, coordinated by the UN Special Envoy, is necessary to help prevent any further escalation and ensure the complete cessation of military operations. We welcome the recent meetings of the Committee and the agreement to set-up a joint coordination room. We encourage regular meetings of the Committee, which is important to sustain the truce.

Third, a Yemeni-led and Yemeni-owned political process, with meaningful participation of women, must commence parallelly with the goal of achieving an inclusive and peacefully negotiated settlement to the conflict. We urge all Yemeni parties to work towards such a settlement and we appreciate the UN Special Envoy’s continued consultations with all relevant stakeholders in Yemen towards this end. 

7.    The condition of FSO SAFER continues to pose an environmental, humanitarian, and maritime threat. We appreciate pledges by Saudi Arabia and the US for the UN operational plan to combat this threat and also welcome UN's crowd-funding campaign to bridge the funding gap. We hope this long-pending issue would be addressed quickly with additional funding.

Mr. President, 

8.    As a long-standing friend of Yemen, India will support a robust and inclusive political solution, which fully respects Yemen’s unity, sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity. Only such a solution can end the conflict in Yemen and restore peace, security, stability and prosperity in the country. I thank you.