Al-Khaleej: Grundberg's success depends on changing the United Nations' approach to the Yemen crisis
English - Sunday 08 August 2021 الساعة 07:25 pm
Aden, NewsYemen:
The Emirati newspaper Al-Khaleej said that the success of the mission of the fourth UN envoy to Yemen will not be achieved by wishes or prior pledges, but by the recognition of the United Nations that there is a flaw in its approach to the Yemeni crisis.
The newspaper said, in an editorial published today (Sunday) under the title "A Fourth Envoy to Yemen", that "the United Nations should change its operational plan and benefit from parallel efforts, instead of replacing this envoy with that."
The "Al-Khaleej" suggested that the luck of the Swedish diplomat, Hans Grundberg, "will not be better than his previous predecessors as long as the rules of negotiations are the same, and the Houthi coup underestimates international legitimacy after usurping Yemeni legitimacy in Sanaa."
It added: "The international crises that the UN envoys are discussing do not end with the required speed, contrary to the declared intentions when one of them is announced in his position and for Yemen since the Houthi coup. Stories with these envoys, the last of whom is the British Martin Griffiths, who promoted when he took office in February 2018 that he will not return from there. Except he was victorious in peace, and for three years he achieved nothing but the "Stockholm Agreement" on the situation in Hodeidah on the western coast.
It pointed out that "that meager agreement was thrown by the Houthis to the wall, and they did not implement it except what sponsored their interests, while Griffiths and the United Nations failed to apply serious pressure on the revolutionary party to reach a comprehensive political solution that restores peace to Yemen and frees it from the cycle of wars, sectarianism and humanitarian disasters."
It noted that Griffiths admitted after signing the "Stockholm Agreement" that the wording of the agreement was deficient, and said that "he learned a lesson that partial solutions do not work" to later engage in a long effort to reach a joint declaration, which includes an immediate comprehensive ceasefire and humanitarian and economic steps in preparation for the resumption of negotiations. In his last briefing to the Security Council in mid-June, he admitted that he "failed to achieve peace and stop the war."
It continued, "Griffith's experience did not differ from his predecessors, the Mauritanian Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed and the Moroccan Jamal Benomar. Each of them did not reach his goal and did not achieve the desired hope that Yemenis have been eagerly awaiting for years.
It is most likely - the newspaper says - that Grundenberg will not be an exception, despite the optimism of his leader and the expectation that he will be the bearer of the good news during a short period of time from the start of his mission, and the reason for this optimism is that "the Swedish diplomat obtained a pledge from the European Union to support him and overcome obstacles to his path."
Al-Khaleej newspaper concluded by saying: "Grundberg's success in his mission will not be achieved by wishes or prior pledges, but by the recognition of the United Nations that there is a defect in its approach to the Yemeni crisis."
