The people of Yemen have been suffering for too long. On 1 July the UN declared the crisis in Yemen to be a Level Three Emergency: a category reserved for the most severe, large scale and complex crises in the world. This highlights that the Yemeni people are in dire peril. Many civilians have died as a result of the conflict. More than 80% of the population – 21 million Yemenis – are in need. Of these 21 million, the UN now estimates that 12.9 million people are food insecure; with 6 million facing severe food shortages and 1.6 million suffering from acute malnutrition. Children with severe acute malnutrition are nine times more likely to die than adults.
The situation must change rapidly or the consequences are unthinkable.
The UN’s Level Three Emergency declaration enables the UN to release further financial and human resources from its system to enhance their capacity to respond to Yemen’s crisis. The UK recently announced a further £40m for humanitarian funding in Yemen to provide food, water, emergency shelter and other life-saving assistance. Further funding is vital to providing an adequate response. I urge my friends in the international community to donate funds to the UN now.
During the Yemen Consultations in Geneva last month, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon called for a further humanitarian pause. The UK supports this call. I am under no illusion that the humanitarian pause in May this year was breached by Houthi/Saleh forces and other local armed groups, and there remains the potential for these forces to abuse a future pause. But the dire humanitarian situation demands a well-planned humanitarian pause so that all those in need can receive aid.
The international community and the Government of Yemen must also endorse and help implement the proposed UN Maritime Access Plan. Without further ports being made accessible to both humanitarian and commercial shipping, in particular Aden, the needs of Yemenis will not be met. And we must support all efforts to secure safe passage of goods from ports to population centres. Sadly at the moment critical imports of fuel, medical supplies, food supplies and other items are not reaching those in need.
The sustainable route to solve Yemen’s problems is via a political agreement between those in conflict. The UK fully supports the efforts of the UN Special Envoy, Ismael Ould Cheikh Ahmed, and urges all sides to work with the Special Envoy to enable him to succeed in his mission.