After uncovering evidence that humanitarian food supplies are being diverted in Yemen’s Houthi-controlled capital, Sana’a, and other parts of the country, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has demanded an immediate end to the practice.
The head of the UN team which is monitoring and helping implement a ground-breaking ceasefire across Yemen’s crucial port city of Hudaydah, had his first face-to-face meeting with authorities there on Monday.
The United Nations Security Council on Friday endorsed the agreement reached between the Government of Yemen and leaders of the opposition Houthi movement, at the recent UN-backed talks in Sweden, and authorized the deployment of an advance team to facilitate the monitoring and implementation of the Stockholm Agreement.
It has been a “terrifying” year for Yemenis but ultimately one of hope, as December talks in Sweden yielded a ceasefire around a key port city with the promise of further substantive consultations between the warring parties next month, the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, told UN News in an exclusive interview on Wednesday.
A UN-led team tasked with overseeing the ceasefire which came into effect on Tuesday around a number of critical Yemeni ports, has begun planning operations with a conference call to discuss the general outlines of its work, including agreement of a code of conduct, the UN Spokesperson said on Wednesday.
Senior UN officials briefed the Security Council on the details of a UN-brokered ceasefire in Yemen on Friday in and around the key port city of Hudaydah, which is expected to restore a humanitarian lifeline to millions across the country, and kickstart imports of commercial goods.
The freshly agreed Yemen ceasefire deal covering the key Red Sea governorates of Hudaydah and Taiz has been welcomed by the World Food Programme (WFP), which on Friday expressed hope that it would improve access for humanitarians and, just as crucially, commercial shipping.
The announcement of a ceasefire between Yemen’s warring parties in and around the key port of Hudaydah, was hailed by UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Thursday as a deal which would improve the lives of millions of people.
United Nations-sponsored political consultations in Sweden, involving the warring parties in the Yemen war, have led to progress “on a number of issues,” said Martin Griffiths, Special Envoy for Yemen, at a press conference on Monday.
The Yemeni Government and the Houthi opposition have gathered at United Nations-sponsored political talks, close to the Swedish capital, Stockholm, aimed at ending nearly four years of brutal war in the country.
