Yemen: Statement During Briefing

Thank you, Mr. President,

I thank Special Envoy Hans Grundberg and Ag. Director Ghada Mudawi for their briefings and I welcome the participation of the representative of Yemen in this meeting.

Kenya joins others in welcoming the extension of the truce for a further two months.

We appreciate that the truce has brought some reprieve to millions of Yemenis, and we urge for intensified efforts by all parties to implement the commitments in particular the opening of roads in Taiz.

We caution against the truce being used as an opportunity to reconfigure or strengthen military postures to influence any future negotiations. In this regard, genuine efforts must be made to create a foundation for lasting peace.

We condemn the attack in Taiz on 24th July, 2022 that resulted in the death of a child and injured several others.

We are also concerned over recent reports of fighting in Shabwa Governorate that killed at least 35 people. We urge for maximum restraint by the concerned parties to avoid any further escalations of tensions.

More importantly, we remind the warring parties of their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians, particularly the vulnerable including women, children, the elderly and people living with disability.

Mr. President, as we heard during out last briefing, the truce alone is not enough to address the humanitarian crisis. The situation has recently been compounded by heavy rains that resulted in flooding affecting many.

As we have said before, there is an urgent need for pragmatic approaches that can adequately and sustainably equip humanitarian action programs with necessary resources.

Meanwhile, national and local actors in Yemen must allow unhindered access to humanitarian workers and aid in line with International Humanitarian Law. The reported cases of intimidation and incitement against aid agencies must come to a stop.

Progress on political, military and economic cooperation under the Political leadership Council and the extension of the truce, create an opportunity to enhance investments in development projects that will improve the economy and reduce reliance on external support.

In this regard, we welcome the UNDP projects like Qat-to-Coffee for Climate Resilience and Human Security in Yemen' that aims to promote sustainable coffee value chains as a high-value alternative crop to reduce groundwater exploitation, enhance livelihood opportunities, and empower women. This project if implemented successfully, can serve as a good model for similar development projects.

We are concerned that as time passes the risks emanating from the deteriorating Safer tanker continue to increase. We appreciate the generous contributions made to date and once again urge the international community to redouble its efforts to enable the project to commence without further delay.

To conclude, Kenya reaffirms its commitment to supporting the ongoing United Nations efforts in facilitating a Yemeni led and Yemeni owned comprehensive and lasting peace and stability.

I thank you.