Riyadh– High-ranking officials from the governments of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Sultanate of Oman, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States of America held a virtual meeting yesterday (Monday), July 18, 2022, to discuss the situation in Yemen.
They welcomed the participation of the United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, as a guest in the meeting, and they also welcomed the participation of David Grisley, the United Nations Resident Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs for Yemen, to discuss the oil tanker “Safer”.
The Five-Year Committee reaffirmed its strong commitment to the unity, sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Yemen, and its commitment to stand by the Yemeni people.
The Committee members also welcomed the continued holding of the truce, which has resulted in tangible benefits for the Yemeni people since it began on April 20 and stressed the need to continue and build on this progress, which requires concessions from all parties.
The Quartet fully supported the efforts of the UN Special Envoy to extend the August 2 truce period, in addition to the full implementation of all its provisions.
The Committee agreed that the final goals of the UN-led process should be to achieve a permanent ceasefire and reach a sustainable political settlement, and that this settlement should be based on previous agreements and relevant Security Council resolutions.
The Five-Year Committee welcomed the Yemeni government’s continued implementation of the agreed confidence-building measures, including facilitating the entry of fuel through the port of Hodeida, and the resumption of certain commercial flights to and from Sana’a airport.
The Five-Year Committee stressed the importance of all parties using the proceeds, including the proceeds from the Hodeida port, to pay wages.
The Five-Year Committee expressed concern about the severe humanitarian impact of the continued road closures around Taiz, and called on the Houthis to show flexibility in negotiations, and to open major roads immediately.
The committee stressed the importance of improving the freedom of movement of civilians throughout Yemen, noting the importance of constructive communication with the United Nations to reach a sustainable solution to the problem of opening roads.
The Five-Year Committee reiterated support for the United Nations Special Envoy and endorsed his multi-track approach. It welcomed the progress this enabled in discussing economic and military issues, including the establishment of the Military Coordination Committee, the Joint Coordination Room at the operational level, and the initiation of the salary dialogue.
The Committee stressed the importance of continued leadership and unity from the Presidential Leadership Council as an important step towards reaching a political settlement led and initiative by Yemenis under the auspices of the United Nations.
The Committee stressed the importance of the political process being inclusive of all, and called on all parties to ensure the full, equal and serious participation of women in the peace process in Yemen. It stressed the importance of the parties respecting their commitment to a minimum of 30 percent of women’s participation, in line with the outcomes of the National Dialogue Conference.
The Five-Year Committee reiterated its grave concern over the deteriorating humanitarian situation, noting the adverse impact of global crises on food import. Its members agreed to continue to support the United Nations humanitarian response plan and to work with international financial institutions to ensure the availability of commercial financing.
The Five-Year Committee recognized that the civilian casualties related to the conflict today are mostly caused by landmines and unexploded ordnance, and called for accelerating demining efforts, noting the work of the United Nations in this regard. The committee commended the efforts of the “Masam” project to remove mines, and expressed concern about the alleged planting of sea mines by the Houthis in the Red Sea near the tanker “Safer”.
The Five-Year Committee stressed the need to release all prisoners of war, according to the principle of all for all, without delay, for humanitarian reasons and as a confidence-building measure.
The quinquennial committee agreed on the urgent need to secure the necessary funding to enable the transfer of oil from the dilapidated tanker Safer to another tanker.
The Committee highlighted the pledges made by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States, and welcomed the additional pledge of £2 million from the United Kingdom. It also expressed its full support for the efforts of the United Nations towards developing a comprehensive plan to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe and the occurrence of environmental risks.
The Five-Year Committee welcomed the $3 billion Saudi-UAE joint economic support package for Yemen, which they announced in April, as well as a commitment to an additional grant from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the amount of $200 million to provide petroleum derivatives to operate power plants in Yemen.
Source: Saudi Press Agency