UK Special Envoy Warns of Exacerbated Risk of Famine in Yemen

UK's first Special Envoy for Famine Prevention and Humanitarian Affairs Nick Dyer | Asharq Al-Awsat
UK's first Special Envoy for Famine Prevention and Humanitarian Affairs Nick Dyer | Asharq Al-Awsat
TT

UK Special Envoy Warns of Exacerbated Risk of Famine in Yemen

UK's first Special Envoy for Famine Prevention and Humanitarian Affairs Nick Dyer | Asharq Al-Awsat
UK's first Special Envoy for Famine Prevention and Humanitarian Affairs Nick Dyer | Asharq Al-Awsat

The UK's first Special Envoy for Famine Prevention and Humanitarian Affairs Nick Dyer, in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, warned that thousands of Yemenis risk famine and urged allocating more resources in support of the humanitarian response.

Dyer, who is on his first Gulf tour since his appointment as special envoy last September, said Saudi Arabia was “absolutely central over the last couple of years in preventing famine in Yemen,” and praised the Kingdom’s support of the Yemen Central Bank and UN agencies.

The envoy also shed light on how “conflict, Covid and climate change,” are compound factors in aggravating the loss of food security around the world, and expressed worry over the worsening of matters in four specific countries: Yemen, Burkina Faso, South Sudan, and Northeast Nigeria.

A New Role

“I was appointed when the FCDO was created on the 3rd of September and it was a reflection of the fact that the UK government is genuinely concerned that there are growing risks of food insecurity and famine conditions in a range of countries,” Dyer said.

“And we think that there are a number of countries that are already facing emergency levels of food insecurity. And if you look at the compound of factors of conflict, Covid and climate change, there are probably 10 to 11 countries that genuinely run the risk of their situation giving worse,” he added.

“And of those, we are particularly concerned about four countries/areas in the world: Yemen, Burkina Faso, South Sudan, and Northeast Nigeria.

“My role is really twofold. It's partly about making the case with other countries. So the Diplomatic side in terms of raising resources, but also, asking ourselves the question: What more can we do through our diplomatic leaders to improve humanitarian access as well as resources. So this isn't just about money. This is also about the wider question of how to use our diplomatic leaders to improve humanitarian access.”

Visit to Saudi Arabia

“It's my first trip to the gulf and to Saudi Arabia, and I have been looking forward to it because Saudi Arabia and the UK, are some of the world's largest humanitarian donors. And for me, this is an opportunity to do a number of things,” Dyer noted.

“First of all, to share our analysis of what we're seeing around the world and whether we got a shared analysis of that. I also want to discuss how we can further strengthen our humanitarian partnership, particularly in the world's most pressing food security risks,” he explained.

“And thirdly, Saudi Arabia was absolutely central over the last couple of years in preventing famine in Yemen, through what they did in terms of providing additional support to the Central Bank of Yemen, but also to the UN agencies and to explore what more we're doing and what more we could do to alleviate what is clearly a growing problem in Yemen.”

Yemen Crisis

“The timing of my visit and this conversation coincides with the latest assessment of what's happening in Yemen in terms of food insecurity, and it's deeply worrying.”

“If you look at the number of people who are struggling every day to meet their basic food conditions, or are facing increased risks of serious illness or death, there's about 13 and a half million people now in Yemen who are in that situation and the assessment also tells us there are over 16,000 men women and children who are facing famine conditions,” Dyer recounted.

“And let's be clear what that means, that means risk of either starving to death or being so weak that you can die of disease. It's a really bad situation to be in.”

“And the projections are that this is just going to get worse over the next six months, and the numbers in famine conditions will rise to about 47,000 as a prediction,” the special envoy warned.

“All our experiences tell us not to wait until a famine is declared before acting. So if you look at the last big famine in 2011 Somalia, the forecast was that 250,000 people died from food insecurity. But most of those people died before the famine was declared. So people are dying now, and so we absolutely have to act now.

“And a part of my role and that of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia is to raise the alarm bells and to make the case for more resources to be put into humanitarian response, and particularly to Yemen,” Dyer stressed.

“The fiscal impacts of all countries from Covid is significant. We've seen it. You've seen it in the UK, but this is all about making choices.”

“And this is all about targeting the limited resources that we got in the right places. And Yemen is definitely one of those right places.”

Houthis Designation

“Now, we encourage all parties to engage with the UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths and the peace process, because ultimately the only way we're really going to resolve the crisis that Yemen is facing is through peace process,” Dyer affirmed.

“And in terms of the designation of the Houthis, all I understand is that conversation is still ongoing. And it's important with any designation, as we've seen in Somalia, to ensure there are exemptions for humanitarian delivery. And we would hope that that conversation would happen in the context of the conversation in Yemen. But as I say, that conversation is still ongoing, ” he clarified.

He added: "Access is always a problem in conflicts, everywhere around the world. And whether that's access to food or access to fuel, because lack of fuel drives up food prices, and makes water distribution harder. And access is something that we all need to be deeply concerned about."

"And the main thing with access is you just got to have an ongoing conversation at all levels, and with all parties to the conflict to ensure that people understand what their responsibilities are under international law, and that they live up to those responsibilities.”

South Sudan

“With South Sudan, we're expecting the new food security assessment to be coming out in the next few weeks,” Dyer revealed.

“I was in Jonglei state, where I came across people who are facing disruption and displacement because of the conflict, but there's also flooding up to thigh level. It's really desperate,” he said.

“And again, the compound impacts of Covid and climate as well and conflict is just exacerbating and increasing the numbers of people facing food insecurity, and we had good conversations with the government about the peace deal that was agreed in 2018, and how to make it still stick particularly at the state level.”

“And again, this is the same as everywhere. What we need is funding, we need access, we need peace,” he underlined.

UK Aid Cuts

“The thing we should recognize is that the cuts were an exceptional response to an exceptional circumstance,” Dyer emphasized.

“But even then, we still have a 10 billion pound a year in Aid budget. We remain one of the largest aid donors in the world in terms of our share of GDP, and the Prime Minister has been very clear that we will continue to deliver an ambitious humanitarian agenda and to protect those most in need.”

“As a special Envoy, it's really good to hear that commitment. But you know part of my role is also to lobby for others to raise more resources,” he concluded.

“And as I said before, it's not all about money. The root cause of most of these food crises is conflict, and one of my key priorities is to see how we can use diplomacy to ensure access for those most in need and to support peace processes where they are in operation.”

“So yes, it's tough, but we still have a big budget and we have big commitments on the humanitarian side. And my expectation is that we will still remain one of the largest humanitarian donors in the world.”



Goldrich to Asharq Al-Awsat: No US Withdrawal from Syria

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Ethan Goldrich during the interview with Asharq Al-Awsat
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Ethan Goldrich during the interview with Asharq Al-Awsat
TT

Goldrich to Asharq Al-Awsat: No US Withdrawal from Syria

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Ethan Goldrich during the interview with Asharq Al-Awsat
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Ethan Goldrich during the interview with Asharq Al-Awsat

Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Ethan Goldrich has told Asharq Al-Awsat that the US does not plan to withdraw its forces from Syria.

The US is committed to “the partnership that we have with the local forces that we work with,” he said.

Here is the full text of the interview.

Question: Mr. Goldrich, thank you so much for taking the time to sit with us today. I know you are leaving your post soon. How do you assess the accomplishments and challenges remaining?

Answer: Thank you very much for the chance to talk with you today. I've been in this position for three years, and so at the end of three years, I can see that there's a lot that we accomplished and a lot that we have left to do. But at the beginning of a time I was here, we had just completed a review of our Syria policy, and we saw that we needed to focus on reducing suffering for the people in Syria. We needed to reduce violence. We needed to hold the regime accountable for things that are done and most importantly, from the US perspective, we needed to keep ISIS from reemerging as a threat to our country and to other countries. At the same time, we also realized that there wouldn't be a solution to the crisis until there was a political process under resolution 2254, so in each of these areas, we've seen both progress and challenges, but of course, on ISIS, we have prevented the reemergence of the threat from northeast Syria, and we've helped deal with people that needed to be repatriated out of the prisons, and we dealt with displaced people in al-Hol to reduce the numbers there. We helped provide for stabilization in those parts of Syria.

Question: I want to talk a little bit about the ISIS situation now that the US troops are still there, do you envision a timeline where they will be withdrawn? Because there were some reports in the press that there is a plan from the Biden administration to withdraw.

Answer: Yeah. So right now, our focus is on the mission that we have there to keep ISIS from reemerging. So I know there have been reports, but I want to make clear that we remain committed to the role that we play in that part of Syria, to the partnership that we have with the local forces that we work with, and to the need to prevent that threat from reemerging.

Question: So you can assure people who are saying that you might withdraw, that you are remaining for the time being?

Answer: Yes, and that we remain committed to this mission which needs to continue to be pursued.

Question: You also mentioned the importance of humanitarian aid. The US has been leading on this. Are you satisfied with where you are today on the humanitarian front in Syria?

Answer: We remain committed to the role that we play to provide for humanitarian assistance in Syria. Of the money that was pledged in Brussels, we pledged $593 million just this past spring, and we overall, since the beginning of the conflict, have provided $18 billion both to help the Syrians who are inside of Syria and to help the refugees who are in surrounding countries. And so we remain committed to providing that assistance, and we remain keenly aware that 90% of Syrians are living in poverty right now, and that there's been suffering there. We're doing everything we can to reduce the suffering, but I think where we would really like to be is where there's a larger solution to the whole crisis, so Syrian people someday will be able to provide again for themselves and not need this assistance.

Question: And that's a perfect key to my next question. Solution in Syria. you are aware that the countries in the region are opening up to Assad again, and you also have the EU signaling overture to the Syrian regime and Assad. How do you deal with that?

Answer: For the United States, our policy continues to be that we will not normalize with the regime in Syria until there's been authentic and enduring progress on the goals of resolution 2254, until the human rights of the Syrian people are respected and until they have the civil and human rights that they deserve. We know other countries have engaged with the regime. When those engagements happen, we don't support them, but we remind the countries that are engaged that they should be using their engagements to push forward on the shared international goals under 2254, and that whatever it is that they're doing should be for the sake of improving the situation of the Syrian people.

Question: Let's say that all of the countries decided to talk to Assad, aren’t you worried that the US will be alienated in the process?

Answer: The US will remain true to our own principles and our own policies and our own laws, and the path for the regime in Syria to change its relationship with us is very clear, if they change the behaviors that led to the laws that we have and to the policies that we have, if those behaviors change and the circumstances inside of Syria change, then it's possible to have a different kind of relationship, but that's where it has to start.

Question: My last question to you before you leave, if you have to pick one thing that you need to do in Syria today, what is it that you would like to see happening today?

Answer: So there are a number of things, I think that will always be left and that there are things that we will try to do, to try to make them happen. We want to hold people accountable in Syria for things that have happened. So even today, we observed something called the International Day for victims of enforced disappearances, there are people that are missing, and we're trying to draw attention to the need to account for the missing people. So our step today was to sanction a number of officials who were responsible for enforced disappearances, but we also created something called the independent institution for missing persons, and that helps the families, in the non-political way, get information on what's happened. So I'd like to see some peace for the families of the missing people. I'd like to see the beginning of a political process, there hasn't been a meeting of the constitutional committee in two years, and I think that's because the regime has not been cooperating in political process steps. So we need to change that situation. And I would, of course, like it's important to see the continuation of the things that we were talking about, so keeping ISIS from reemerging and maintaining assistance as necessary in the humanitarian sphere. So all these things, some of them are ongoing, and some of them remain to be achieved. But the Syrian people deserve all aspects of our policy to be fulfilled and for them to be able to return to a normal life.