UN Envoy in Aden Soon to Kick off Negotiations on Comprehensive Solution

Martin Griffiths, the UN envoy to Yemen, speaking in Geneva on September 5, 2018. (AFP)
Martin Griffiths, the UN envoy to Yemen, speaking in Geneva on September 5, 2018. (AFP)
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UN Envoy in Aden Soon to Kick off Negotiations on Comprehensive Solution

Martin Griffiths, the UN envoy to Yemen, speaking in Geneva on September 5, 2018. (AFP)
Martin Griffiths, the UN envoy to Yemen, speaking in Geneva on September 5, 2018. (AFP)

United Nations envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths plans to kick off a series of direct meetings between the legitimate government and Iran-backed Houthis, sources told Asharq Al-Awsat Sunday.

The envoy is expected in the interim capital Aden in days.

“Griffiths believes that the positive atmosphere accompanying the formation of a power-sharing government and its return to Aden is an important point that would help kick off comprehensive political talks on the draft Joint Declaration,” the informed sources said.

The Joint Declaration comprises a nationwide ceasefire, in addition to an agreement on humanitarian and economic measures and the resumption of a comprehensive and inclusive political process in Yemen.

Griffiths believes that indirect talks between the warring parties on the Joint Declaration had been successful.

“We waited months to see the realization of the Riyadh Agreement. Griffiths believes that the return of the government to Aden and the implementation of security and military measures is a very good step,” the sources said, adding that no progress could be made in the file of the UN-sponsored Yemeni talks before seeing a progress in the file of the legitimate government and the Southern Transitional Council.

Griffiths had proposed the text of his draft Joint Declaration on a ceasefire across Yemen months ago.

He has been carrying out discussions virtually and shuttling between the parties involved in the conflict.

The draft was approved by the legitimate government and rejected by the Houthis, who suggested changes and demanded additional conditions.

However, the sources uncovered Sunday that an important agreement was reached between the parties on several sections of the Declaration, particularly the first and third items.

They explained that the first item is related to aspects of the ceasefire and the third item details the means of discussions towards a comprehensive political agreement.

The sources said the two sides have not agreed on the second item, which covers economic and humanitarian measures.

“Griffiths wants the two sides to sit together and discuss differences over the airport, Hodeidah and salaries,” the sources said.



Rights Defenders Denounce US Sanctions on UN Expert on Palestinians

UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo
UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo
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Rights Defenders Denounce US Sanctions on UN Expert on Palestinians

UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo
UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo

Human rights defenders rallied on Thursday to support the top UN expert on Palestinian rights, after the United States imposed sanctions on her over what it said was unfair criticism of Israel.

Italian lawyer Francesca Albanese serves as special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, one of dozens of experts appointed by the 47-member UN Human Rights Council to report on specific global issues.

She has long criticized Israeli treatment of the Palestinians, and this month published a report accusing over 60 companies, including some US firms, of supporting Israeli settlements in the West Bank and military actions in Gaza.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Wednesday Albanese would be added to the US sanctions list for work which had prompted what he described as illegitimate prosecutions of Israelis at the International Criminal Court.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk urged Washington to reverse course.

"Even in the face of fierce disagreement, UN Member States should engage substantively and constructively, rather than resort to punitive measures," he said, Reuters reported.

Juerg Lauber, the Swiss permanent representative to the UN who now holds the rotating presidency of the Human Rights Council, said he regretted the sanctions, and called on states to "refrain from any acts of intimidation or reprisal" against the body's experts.

Mariana Katzarova, who serves as the special rapporteur for human rights in Russia, said her concern was that other countries would follow the US lead.

"This is totally unacceptable and opens the gates for any other government to do the same," she told Reuters. "It is an attack on UN system as a whole. Member states must stand up and denounce this."

Russia has rejected Katzarova's mandate and refused to let her enter the country, but it has so far stopped short of publicly adding her to a sanctions list.

Washington has already imposed sanctions against officials at the International Criminal Court, which has issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister for suspected war crimes in Gaza. Another court, the International Court of Justice, is hearing a case brought by South Africa that accuses Israel of genocide.

Israel denies that its forces have carried out war crimes or genocide against Palestinians in the war in Gaza, which was precipitated by an attack by Hamas-led fighters in October 2023.

"The United States is working to dismantle the norms and institutions on which survivors of grave abuses rely," said Liz Evenson, international justice director at Human Rights Watch.

The group's former head, Kenneth Roth, called the US sanctions an attempt "to deter prosecution of Israeli war crimes and genocide in Gaza".

The United States, once one of the most active members of the Human Rights Council, has disengaged from it under President Donald Trump, alleging an anti-Israel bias.