I would like to thank the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, Mr. Griffiths, and Under-Secretary-General Lowcock for their briefings. We welcome Mr. Griffiths’s assumption of the important post of Special Envoy.

Yemen’s political process is currently at a stalemate, military conflicts continue and the humanitarian crisis remains serious. The international community should step up its mediation efforts, encourage all parties in Yemen to broker a ceasefire and return to the path to a political solution in order to achieve peace, security and stability in Yemen as soon as possible. A political solution is the only way to achieve lasting peace in Yemen. The international community should continue to support Yemen’s sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity. It is imperative to support the meditation efforts of the United Nations, on the basis of the relevant Security Council resolutions, the Gulf Cooperation Council Initiative, its Implementation Mechanism and the National Dialogue Conference outcome documents, and engage in dialogue and negotiations in order to reach an inclusive settlement to the issue as soon as possible.

The Security Council and relevant parties should remain united, support the mediation efforts of Special Envoy Griffiths, strengthen efforts for peace talks and negotiations and encourage all parties to the conflict to break the stalemate as soon as possible in order to resolve their differences through dialogue and negotiations. It is important to support the Special Envoy in his efforts to develop a road map or plan of action as soon as possible towards a political solution to the situation in Yemen. The international community and countries of the region should provide constructive assistance in that regard.

The current humanitarian situation in Yemen is dire. Cholera persists and millions of people face severe famine. The international community should provide greater humanitarian assistance to alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people. China welcomes the successful holding of the Geneva high-level pledging event for the humanitarian crisis in Yemen in Geneva. Through bilateral means and its cooperation with the World Health Organization and the World Food Programme, China has provided humanitarian assistance to Yemen totaling RMB150 million, in order to ease the famine and eradicate cholera. We will continue to provide assistance to the people of Yemen to the best of our ability.

Ensuring smooth humanitarian access to Yemen is key to mitigating the humanitarian crisis. The relevant parties should work together to provide safe and unhindered humanitarian access to create the conditions to ease the humanitarian situation in Yemen. China is ready to work with all parties to support the work of the Special Envoy and continue to play a constructive role in the situation in Yemen.