New York

15 April 2015

Note to correspondents on Jamal Benomar stepping down as Special Adviser on Yemen

Jamal Benomar, the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Yemen, has expressed an interest in moving on to another assignment.  A successor shall be named in due course. Until that time and beyond, the United Nations will continue to spare no efforts to re-launch the peace process in order to get the political transition back on track.

Mr. Benomar has spent the past four years working closely with the Yemenis to realise their legitimate aspirations for democratic change fulfilled. On behalf of the Secretary-General, Mr Benomar brokered the Transition Agreement in November 2011, facilitated the successful conclusion of the National Dialogue Conference in January 2014 that took 10 months of deliberations, and mediated the Peace and National Partnership Agreement in September 2014. More recently, Mr Benomar chaired and facilitated all-inclusive negotiations for over two months to get the transition back on track. Unfortunately, this process was interrupted with the dramatic escalation of violence.

The Secretary-General greatly appreciates the tireless efforts Mr Benomar has made over the years to promote consensus and trust on a peaceful way forward in Yemen.