SG/SM/16756

Secretary-General, in Message to Yemen Conference, Says Pause in Violence Must Evolve into ‘Permanent Ceasefire’, Calls for Renewed Commitment to Peace

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message to the Conference on Yemen, delivered by Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, Special Envoy for Yemen, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, today:

I am grateful to the President of the Republic of Yemen, Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi, and Vice-President Khaled Bahah, for organizing this conference and for inviting my Special Envoy for Yemen to participate in the opening.  We hope the conference will help to chart a sustainable, peaceful solution for Yemen.  In this regard, I would like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to President Hadi and all Yemeni parties for their support for my Special Envoy.

I would like also to commend the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) for their cooperation with the United Nations in our work on conflict prevention, conflict resolution and peacebuilding, particularly with respect to the Yemeni crisis.  The GCC Initiative and its Implementation Mechanism were an example of good collaboration.  We will need to work together with all Yemenis to get it back onto a peaceful track.  I would also like to highlight the role of the United Arab Emirates in hosting for more than 10 weeks in late 2014 the Constitutional Drafting Commission formed as part of that initiative.

The United Nations recognizes that the GCC countries have a crucial role to play in ending the suffering of the Yemeni people and in supporting a peaceful political resolution to Yemen’s political crisis.  Yemenis have faced tragic levels of suffering and violence in recent months.  The humanitarian pause is important to give them time to seek medical assistance and for much-needed basic goods to flow into the country.  This pause must now become a permanent ceasefire and mark an end to all hostilities.

In order to allow the United Nations to provide much-needed humanitarian assistance, I would like to reiterate my call on all parties to ensure that humanitarian agencies and their partners have safe and reliable access throughout the country.  I call on all sides to refrain from any actions that undermine the safety and security of Yemen’s airports, seaports and transport infrastructure.  I strongly encourage ending immediately the interruptions in the import of fuel, food and medicines.

We have seen how the humanitarian pause has provided a ray of hope and badly needed aid to the people of Yemen.  In this spirit, I call on all sides to renew their commitment to the humanitarian pause for another five-day period.  At the same time, we know that a durable solution can only come from a return to peaceful and inclusive dialogue.  The GCC Initiative produced consensus through the National Dialogue Conference.  We need to help Yemenis rediscover that spirit of dialogue and consensus.  There is no solution to the current crisis without inclusive negotiations.

In its resolutions 2014 (2011), 2051 (2012), 2140 (2014) and 2216 (2015), the Security Council expressed its strong support for a peaceful and Yemeni-led political transition process.  In particular, in resolution 2216 (2015), the Security Council emphasized the need for the return to the implementation of the GCC Initiative and its Implementation Mechanism and the outcomes of the comprehensive National Dialogue Conference and reaffirmed its full support for, and commitment to, the efforts of the United Nations, in particular to the United Nations-brokered negotiations.

Strongly determined to intensify my good offices, I intend to convene in the near future an inclusive and widely representative conference that will restart a Yemeni peace process in accordance with the relevant above-mentioned Security Council resolutions.  I call on all parties to join these consultations without preconditions.  The United Nations is strongly committed to making sure that negotiations are conducted with fairness and impartiality, without bias towards any party and with the unwavering aim of restoring peace and a truly inclusive political dialogue in the interests of all Yemenis.

I ask for your renewed support for the United Nations’ attempts to find a lasting and peaceful solution for Yemen that helps the country’s people achieve their aspirations of a State based on the rule of law and fundamental rights and freedoms and that lives in peace and harmony with its neighbours.  Please accept my best wishes for a productive conference.

For information media. Not an official record.