Secretary-General Welcomes Positive Responses to Yemen Consultations, Urges Parties to Engage in Good Faith

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

The Secretary-General welcomes the readiness of President Abd Rabou Mansour Hadi, as communicated to his Special Envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, in Riyadh, to send a delegation to participate in United Nations-facilitated Yemeni-Yemeni consultations in Geneva starting on 14 June.  He is equally pleased that delegations of Yemeni parties from Sana’a have communicated their commitment to attend the consultations to the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy.

The Secretary-General reiterates his urgent call on all Yemeni parties to engage in these consultations in good faith and without preconditions in the interest of all Yemeni people.  He hopes that the meeting in Geneva will restart a peaceful, orderly, inclusive and Yemeni-led transition process based on Security Council resolutions 2014 (2011), 2051 (2012), 2140 (2014), 2201 (2015) and 2216 (2015).  For the consultations to succeed, he also appeals to all countries concerned to create a conducive political environment.

The Secretary-General reiterates his call for a renewed humanitarian pause in order to allow humanitarian assistance to reach all Yemenis in need.  This could also help create an atmosphere that is more conducive for peaceful dialogue.  Such assistance is of paramount and pressing importance because the suffering of the Yemeni population, as a result of the continued conflict, is increasing dramatically.  The Secretary-General appeals to the international community, and to the countries of the region in particular, to do everything in their power to reduce the civilian suffering in Yemen and to contribute to United Nations efforts in this regard.