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Security Council calls on Yemenis to ensure transition milestones are met on time

The Security Council.
UN Photo/JC McIlwaine
The Security Council.

Security Council calls on Yemenis to ensure transition milestones are met on time

Commending the progress made by Yemen in its democratic transition, the Security Council today called on all parties to continue to honour the timetable for achieving key milestones along that path, including the upcoming national dialogue.

Council members re-emphasized the importance of conducting a “fully-inclusive, participatory, transparent and meaningful” national dialogue conference, Ambassador Peter Wittig of Germany, which holds the Council’s rotating presidency for this month, said in a statement read out to the press.

They also called on all stakeholders to participate actively and constructively in this process.

The statement follows the Friends of Yemen ministerial meeting held yesterday at UN Headquarters, on the margins of the high-level debate of the General Assembly’s 67th session, at which Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon congratulated Yemen for the progress it has made and called on the international community to support the country in protecting its “fragile gains.”

Yemen has been undergoing a democratic transition, under the leadership of President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi Mansour, who came to power in an election in February. This followed the agreement signed by warring factions in November 2011 on a transitional settlement in the wake of widespread protests and the resignation of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Initial preparations have begun for the national dialogue conference, whose outcome will feed into the constitution-making process that is to conclude in late 2013, enabling general elections to take place in February 2014.

Council members reiterated their support for Yemen in its efforts to reach key milestones in the transition, including the upcoming national dialogue conference, adoption of the transitional justice law, setting up of a new electoral commission, and ongoing security sector reform.

“They called upon all parties to continue to honour the timetable set out in the agreement and for all sides to act in a transparent, peaceful, inclusive and timely manner, and in a spirit of reconciliation,” said Mr. Wittig.