Briefing by Mr. Mark Lowcock, Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, on Yemen during the 8753rd Security Council Meeting.
UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock warned that the humanitarian crisis in Yemen has never been worse. He told the Council that famine is again on the horizon, conflict is again escalating, the economy is again in tatters and humanitarian agencies are again nearly broke. Meanwhile, COVID-19 is spreading out of control. He said that there are now 43 active front lines in Yemen – compared to 33 in January and stressed that Yemenis need a nationwide ceasefire.
Lowcock said the worst was avoided in 2017-2018 when his warnings that the Coalition’s blockade was likely to plunge Yemen into famine were heeded.
SOUNDBITE (English) Mark Lowcock, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, United Nations:
“It would then be the unhappiest of ironies if the failure of Ansar Allah to allow us to deal with the tanker were to be the cause of the loss of the ports. The consequences would be just as I warned in 2017 and 2018. I hope wiser counsels will prevail. The rhetoric on Yemen is often reassuring, and the actions relentlessly ruinous.”
The Under-Secretary-General cautioned that the aid operation in Yemen was on the verge of collapse. He said, “Aid organizations have so far received about 18 per cent of what we need for this year’s humanitarian response plan. What had in recent years been one of the better funded humanitarian operations around the world is now one of the most underfunded.”
SOUNDBITE (English) Mark Lowcock, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, United Nations:
“It is not difficult to predict the effects of less food, less water and less healthcare in Yemen. Without more funding, we should all expect large increases in hunger, malnutrition, cholera, COVID-19 – and, above all, death. We should expect many more people to die.”
Yemeni ambassador Abdullah Al-Saadi said, two weeks after a Security Council meeting on the FSO Safer tanker, The Houthis continued to obstruct the work of the UN technical team, in full disregard for Council decisions and resolutions.
He called on the Security Council to take the “immediate necessary steps” and pressure the Houthis to “facilitate the team’s mission without any delay or preconditions to avoid an economic, environmental, and humanitarian disaster which would have implications on Yemen, the region, and the world.”
