Just one year ago, there was hope for movement toward peace in Yemen as the then-one-year-old, UN-brokered truce held and intensive negotiations offered some promise for an end to the conflict.
“Although the truce continues to hold, the sad reality today is that Houthi attacks against commercial and naval vessels in the Red Sea have made continued progress towards a sustainable peace elusive, and the humanitarian situation has worsened for the Yemeni people,” said Robert Wood, United States Alternative Representative for Special Political Affairs.
“As a result of the Houthi attacks driving up prices and causing delivery delays, Yemenis struggle to buy goods, food, and essentials in marketplaces,” he said. “There are widespread humanitarian needs across Yemen, with 18.2 million people – more than half of the population – requiring humanitarian assistance.”
“Millions of people are experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity and malnutrition, many remain internally displaced in southern Yemen, and lack access to protection and health services, clean drinking water, and sanitation facilities. As a result, a cholera outbreak is spreading across northern and southern Yemen.”
According to the United Nations, Yemen’s economy needs shoring up. Allowing the immediate resumption of oil exports and paying public-sector employees across Yemen a living wage would go a long way towards reducing humanitarian needs.
“As the world’s leading donor of humanitarian assistance for Yemen, the United States calls upon the international community to provide more financial support to mitigate Yemen’s dire humanitarian crisis,” said Ambassador Wood. “To provide relief to the Yemeni people and allow desperately needed food and supplies into Yemen, the Houthis must cease their attacks on international shipping.”
But there is more to it than just providing resources to those in need.
“We have already pointed to the extensive evidence of Iran’s provision of advanced weapons, including ballistic and cruise missiles, to the Houthis, in violation of UN sanctions, which further promote regional instability,” he said. “We must collectively call Iran out for its destabilizing role and insist that it cannot hide behind the Houthis. … The scale and diversity of materiel currently being transferred to the Houthis … is unprecedented.”
“We must redouble our collective efforts to put Yemen on a more positive trajectory,” said Ambassador Wood. “We continue to believe that the best path to stability is negotiating an inclusive Yemeni-Yemeni peace process, under UN auspices.”
