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Remarks by Ambassador Dai Bing at the UN Security Council Briefing on Yemen

2022-04-15 10:30

Madam President, 


I thank Special Envoy Hans Grundberg and Under-Secretary-General Martin Griffiths for the briefings. I welcome the Permanent Representative of Yemen to today’s meeting. I would like to say Ramadan Mubarak to all our Muslim friends, and wish you a peaceful and tranquil month of Ramadan. 


After seven years of war, the light of hope is dawning at long last for Yemen. The past month has seen important progress on the ground, with parties to the conflict entering into a two-month truce starting on April 2. This is the first fighting-free entering of Ramadan for the Yemeni people in seven years. China welcomes this development, and commends the efforts of Special Envoy Grundberg, the Yemeni parties, and regional countries, including Saudi Arabia and Oman. Peace and stability is the common wish of the Yemeni people. It is in no one’s interest to resume hostilities. The current ceasefire, hard-won and fragile, must be cherished with greater care by all parties. We call on all parties in Yemen to do their utmost to make the ceasefire hold, and make every effort to prolong its momentum. 


Ultimately, the Yemen conflict should be resolved through a Yemeni-led and Yemeni-owned political process. Recently, under the aegis of the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Yemeni consultations successfully took place in Riyadh. On April 7, the Yemeni Government announced the formation of the Presidential Leadership Council. On April 11, Special Envoy Grundberg visited Sanaa for the first time. All these have injected new impetus to the Yemeni political process. We hope all parties in Yemen will seize the current rare opportunity, and continue to move in the same direction under the good offices of the Special Envoy to set reasonable expectations, and kickstart and continue the dialogue. Regional countries with influences should continue to contribute positively and constructively to this end. 


The humanitarian crisis in Yemen remains one of the worst in the world, with more than 23 million in need of humanitarian assistance, and some 12 million facing severe starvation, as Yemen relies on imports for 90% of its food and nearly all of its fuel, the soaring global food and energy prices have exacerbated the plight of the Yemeni people. China welcomes the high-level pledging conference on the humanitarian crisis in Yemen co-hosted by the UN, Switzerland, and Sweden last month. Adequate funding is crucial to sustaining UN humanitarian programs in Yemen. Recently, some goods have started to enter the Hodeidah port. The truce agreement allows two weekly commercial flights to depart from and land at Sanaa airport. We encourage all parties to work jointly for its implementation. This will help ease Yemen's humanitarian situation. We applaud Saudi Arabia and the UAE for offering economic support to Yemen, and welcome the continued financial and material assistance from the international community. 


The UN's operational plan on the Safer tanker issue is supported by the Houthis. This is a positive development. From the economic humanitarian, security, and environmental perspectives, the potential risks of the Safer oil tanker must be eliminated without further delay. We hope that all parties concerned will actively cooperate with the UN in implementing the operational plan to ward off a potential disaster. 


I thank you, Madam President.


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