Hans Grundberg, the UN special envoy to Yemen, described the current opportunity for peace between Yemenis as “delicate and rare,” pledging to intensify efforts to achieve a permanent ceasefire and revive the political process.
Grundberg praised the “constructive dialogue” recently held by Saudi officials in Sanaa and their “productive discussions” with members of the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) in Riyadh as part of ongoing efforts to bring about lasting peace in the Arab country.
The UN envoy briefed members of the Security Council in New York, stating that “one year on since the parties agreed to a truce under UN auspices, Yemen is again at a critical juncture.”
“I believe we have not seen such a serious opportunity for making progress towards ending the conflict in eight years,” said Grundberg about the current involvement of all parties in talks.
“The parties have recently shown that negotiations can deliver results. In March, the parties agreed in Switzerland under the auspices of the United Nations to release almost 900 conflict-related detainees from all sides,” he added.
“They also agreed to meet again in May to make further progress on their commitment as part of the Stockholm Agreement to release all conflict-related detainees. And they agreed to undertake joint visits to each other’s detention facilities, including in Marib and Sanaa,” recapped Grundberg.
While commending both parties for their cooperation, he reminded them of the suffering of many Yemenis who are still waiting to be reunited with their loved ones.
“I encourage them to make swift progress toward fulfilling their commitment to release all conflict-related detainees,” said Grundberg.
“Yemen is experiencing the longest period of relative calm yet in this ruinous war. Fuel and other commercial ships continue to flow into Hodeidah. And commercial flights continue between Sana’a International Airport and Amman.”
“However, this is not enough. Yemenis still live with unimaginable hardship every day,” he stressed.
