Jemen

The specialist team that safely stabilized and transferred over one million barrels of crude oil from a decaying supertanker off the cost of Yemen, left the site on Monday, marking the end of a pivotal chapter in the UN-led operation to prevent a potentially disastrous oil spill in the Red Sea.

In briefings to the Security Council on Wednesday, two senior UN officials highlighted the need for progress towards peace in war-torn Yemen amid ongoing political, economic and humanitarian challenges.  UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg provided an update on his mediation efforts, both in the country and abroad, while Edem Wosornu of the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, reported on access impediments and funding gaps affecting aid delivery to millions.

All ‘five colleagues’ who were kidnapped 18 months ago are in good health, spokesman for UN chief Antonio Guterres says.

The top UN humanitarian official in Yemen on Saturday called for justice in the wake of the recent attack against World Food Programme (WFP) staff that left one person dead and another injured. 

[…] Unanimously adopting resolution 2691 (2023), the 15-nation organ decided to extend that mandate, as contained in resolution 2643 (2022), and requested the Secretary-General to report to the Council on a monthly basis on progress regarding the implementation of today’s resolution.

The parties to the conflict in Yemen must immediately stop military provocations and agree to a sustainable nationwide ceasefire, address economic priorities and restart an intra-Yemeni political process under United Nations auspices, the Organization’s senior official for that country told the Security Council today, as he spotlighted positive developments and urged members to encourage the parties to work along the path he outlined.

The food security situation in Yemen’s government-controlled districts “slightly improved” during the first five months of this year, but acute malnutrition is on the rise, UN agencies warned in a new report released on Friday.

Warring parties continue to make progress in efforts towards ending the nearly decade-long conflict in Yemen, though outstanding issues remain, the UN Security Council heard on Wednesday.  

An expired truce still delivering positive results, and a recent mass prisoner exchange, are signs of hope in Yemen, but more work remains to end the war between the Saudi coalition-backed Government and Houthi rebels, UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg told the Security Council on Monday. 

Neither the ongoing negotiations between Saudi Arabia and the Houthi group, nor the upcoming prisoner swap, are tangible signals for an upcoming end of the war as most Yemeni factions remain excluded.