Griffiths: Peace in Yemen could be achieved this year
English - Friday 17 January 2020 الساعة 10:14 am
aden,newsyemen
THE UN ENVOY TO YEMEN, MARTIN GRIFFITHS, CALLED ON YEMENI PARTIES TO MOVE THE POLITICAL PROCESS IN YEMEN.
"Yemen seems to be on its way out of its crisis," he said in a briefing to the Security Council in New York on Thursday evening, predicting that peace will be achieved in Yemen this year.
In his briefing to the Security Council, Griffiths referred to the efforts of the parties that showed their willingness to move to a peaceful solution to the conflict in Yemen, including military calm, progress in the implementation of the Riyadh agreement and the Stockholm Agreement, and other confidence-building measures.
In November, air strikes in Yemen decreased by 80%, and since the beginning of January, nine days have passed without any air strikes, Griffiths said.
"It is true that some fronts are still active and there are still too many tragic civilian deaths, but the movement of troops and army on the ground has decreased," he said.
"But experience also tells us that a military lull cannot continue without political progress between the two parties, which is the next challenge," the UN envoy said.
He stated that the recent regional crisis "threatened the gains we have recently observed in Yemen."
"The momentary crisis seems to be over." But this achievement was not achieved by accident. Yemeni and regional leaders have deliberately exercised restraint."
He stressed that the continued de-escalation in Yemen could not be guaranteed without a political process.
Griffiths praised the recent steps taken by the Yemeni government and the Southern Transitional Council with the support of Saudi Arabia to implement the Riyadh agreement, stressing that the Riyadh agreement and saudi arabia's role played a key role in improving the security situation in Yemen.
In his briefing, the UN envoy praised the release of six Saudi detainees by the Houthi group, iran's arm in Yemen, and thanked the International Committee of the Red Cross for their tireless work in facilitating the release of detainees and their repatriation.
"Every positive step will speed up the political process in Yemen," he said.
"The importance and meaning of these initiatives becomes real only in the context of a political solution to end the conflict," he said.
Griffiths addressed efforts to implement the Stockholm Agreement in Hodeidah, claiming that the implementation of the agreement was moving in the right direction.
He said the redeployment committee is working to improve aid access in Hodeidah.
At the same time, he expressed concern about restrictions on the movement of UN missions in Hodeidah, calling for the release of prisoners in Yemen and the activation of the committee for the release of prisoners.
