United Nations published this video item, entitled “Yemen: 2nd Anniversary of the Stockholm Agreement & other topics – Daily Briefing (14 December 2020)” – below is their description.
Noon briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
Highlights:
– Eswatini
– Trip Announcement
– Yemen
– Ethiopia
– Nigeria
– Climate
– Timor-Leste/COVID-19
– Water/Health Care Facilities
– Migrant Pay Gap
ESWATINI
I just want to start off with a sad note that obviously the Secretary-General was very saddened to hear of the passing of Prime Minister Ambrose Dlamini of the Kingdom of Eswatini.
He extends his deepest condolences to the people and the Government of the country.
TRIP ANNOUNCEMENT
I have a trip announcement for you: The Secretary-General will travel on Wednesday to Berlin, where he will address the German Parliament on Friday morning.
While in Berlin, he will also meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Foreign Minister Heiko Maas.
He will be discussing various issues with them, including the pandemic, climate crisis and international cooperation.
YEMEN
I have a statement by the Secretary-General to share with you on Yemen and the anniversary with the Stockholm Agreement:
Today marks the second anniversary of the Stockholm Agreement, a diplomatic breakthrough that offered a glimmer of hope that an end to the devastating conflict in Yemen was at hand. Unfortunately, far more needs to be done to achieve that common goal – and the profound suffering of the Yemeni people has persisted.
The Stockholm Agreement helped to avert a catastrophic military escalation at the time, thereby safeguarding the continued although limited functioning of the Red Sea ports and the entry of commercial goods and key humanitarian assistance, on which millions of Yemenis depend to survive. The preservation of this lifeline is even more vital now as pockets of famine-like conditions have returned in Yemen and millions are facing severe, growing food insecurity, in particular against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Secretary-General calls on all Member States to step up their financial support for the United Nations relief operations, and to help address the severe economic crisis of the country.
He calls on the parties to fulfil the commitments they assumed in Stockholm, including through full and unconditional participation in the Redeployment Coordination Committee and its related joint mechanisms, and the implementation of the terms of the ceasefire on the ground.
It is crucial to avoid any action that would exacerbate the dire situation in Yemen. The Secretary-General urges the parties to engage with his Special Envoy, Martin Griffiths, and that engagement [be] in good faith. Only through dialogue will the Yemeni parties be able to agree on a nationwide ceasefire, economic and humanitarian confidence-building measures to alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people, as well as the resumption of an inclusive political process to reach a comprehensive negotiated settlement to end the conflict.
We will be sharing that statement with you electronically as we speak.
Also, I just wanted to flag that the Head of the UN Mission in support the Hudaydah Agreement (UNMHA) and Chair of the Redeployment Coordination Committee, Lieutenant General Abhijit Guha, is also calling for full implementation of the Agreement to end the suffering of the people of Yemen.
Both General Guha and the Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mark Lowcock, as well as Martin Griffiths, briefed the Security Council this morning on Yemen, in a closed meeting.
Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=14%20December%202020
United Nations YouTube Channel
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