Yemen: Statement During Briefing

Thank you, Madam President,

I thank Special Envoy Hans Grundberg and Under-Secretary-General Martin Griffiths for their briefings and welcome the participation of the representative of Yemen in this meeting.

After 7 years of a devastating armed conflict, the positive developments over the past few weeks are encouraging. I commend all the parties for agreeing to a truce and we encourage them to uphold this commitment.

I also commend the Gulf Cooperation Council for their efforts towards uniting the various political stakeholders with a view to driving Yemen's peace aspirations forward.

Kenya acknowledges the decision by H.E. President Hadi to peacefully hand over authority and wish the head of the Presidential Leadership Council H.E. Rashad Al-Alimi and members of the Council success in their new roles.

We urge the Council to embark on unifying the people of Yemen while ensuring equitable service distribution.

But even as we celebrate this moment of reprieve, the parties must be conscious of the fact that difficult decisions and compromises have to be made to attain the much-needed sustained peace.

we remain cautiously optimistic, given that the country still faces several challenges that requires collective support.

Madam President,

We regret that in the last few years, the humanitarian funding for the millions of Yemeni people in need has gradually decreased while the humanitarian situation has been worsening. Indeed, the approximately USD 2.7 billion shortfall in the humanitarian funding appeal has left humanitarian programs struggling to operate under extremely difficult conditions.

In this regard, we welcome the timely intervention by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to provide $2 billion in economic support for the Central Bank of Yemen as well as USD 1 billion towards development projects and fuel.

The regional initiative should serve as encouragement for the international community to also renew their support to the Yemen funding appeal.

Addressing this challenge will also require OCHA and other humanitarian agencies to recalibrate their approaches aimed at attracting sustainable support.

Madam President, our region, the Horn of Africa, is alive to the threat posed by the deteriorating Safer Tanker. An oil spill would not only destroy the fragile ecosystem but also the livelihoods of those who depend on the blue economy.

We take note of the proposed operation as a positive step and call on all stakeholders to urgently contribute to its funding so as to commence without delay.

To conclude, I wish all our Muslim brothers and sisters continued peace during the holy month of Ramadhan.

I thank you.