Britain: Yemenis deserve to live in peace and away from the threat of starvation

English - Tuesday 16 August 2022 الساعة 06:09 pm
Aden, NewsYemen:

 The United Kingdom viewed the extension of the armistice in Yemen, for an additional two months, as relative peace and an opportunity to continue to benefit from confidence-building measures.

Britain's delegate to the Security Council, Ambassador James Kariuki, said in his statement that he read out at the session devoted to the Yemeni file, that extending the truce for two months is an important achievement by the United Nations and the parties.

He noted that Yemenis were also given new freedom of movement thanks to commercial flights back and forth from Sanaa.

The British delegate urged the Yemeni government and the Houthis to continue their constructive engagement with the UN envoy and to abide by their commitments, stressing at the same time, the continuation of cooperation and the expansion of the armistice in the interest of all parties and the Yemeni people.

He added: Only peace can solve the humanitarian crisis. Despite the tangible benefits of the truce for Yemeni civilians, the high global commodity prices and the scarcity of humanitarian funding mean that Yemenis will continue to suffer.

 He referred to the June WFP analysis, which showed the levels of insufficient food consumption ever recorded in Yemen.

He said: This cycle of underfunding will lead to only three million Yemenis getting the food rations they need, where funding shortfalls undermine the humanitarian response.

He stated that without further disbursement of funds from donors, the crisis would only deepen and undermine the benefits of the armistice.

The British delegate continued: "Without humanitarian access, no amount of funding can serve those in need. The people of Yemen deserve to live in peace, without the looming threat of famine."