United Nations envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths is set to brief the Security Council on Wednesday on the obstacles that have so far been hindering the implementation of the first phase of the Sweden ceasefire agreement in the port city of Hodeidah.
A western diplomat told Asharq Al-Awsat that the failure is related to a lack of trust harbored by the Iran-backed Houthi militias.
Efforts are underway to provide all concerned parties with assurances in order to implement this vital part of the deal, he added.
The UN-brokered agreement was reached between the legitimate government and Houthis during talks in Sweden in December.
Meanwhile, the five permanent members of the Security Council urged Yemen’s warring parties on Tuesday to implement the Hodeidah deal, voicing their concern over its delay.
The Chinese, French, Russian, British and US ambassadors to Yemen said in a statement they were “extremely concerned” that the Stockholm agreement had not been implemented.
“We ... urge both parties to begin implementation of the proposal in good faith without further delay and without seeking to exploit the redeployments by the other side,” they said.
“We call on all sides to ensure the UN monitoring mission can carry out its work safely and without interference.”
They reiterated their commitment to a comprehensive political solution based on relevant Security Council resolutions, the Gulf initiative and national dialogue outcomes.
Separately, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres filed a report on the resources needed for the Redeployment Coordination Committee that was formed to oversee the Hodeidah truce.
The team would need some $17.6 million to cover expenses for April 1 and June 30, 2019.
The deployment team is comprised of 75 UN observers. It would need additional staff with experience in administrative, logistic and security affairs.
