All parties must show courage, make concessions for Yemen peace agreement, special envoy tells Security Council
Date
6/22/2016 2:35:39 AM
(MENAFN- Emirates News Agency (WAM))
NEW YORK, 21st June 2016 (WAM) --- The Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen told the Security Council today that he would soon set out a proposal to advance the Yemeni peace talks, now entering their third month in Kuwait, as he called for concessions to be made against the backdrop of a potential humanitarian crisis.
Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, speaking via video teleconference from Kuwait City, said the talks which began on 21 April had been moving slowly, yet constructively, and while some difficulties remained to be addressed, he was reassured by the commitment of the two delegations.
"I will provide the Yemeni parties, in the next few days, with a written proposal for the upcoming period before we resume consultations after a short break aimed at allowing parties to consult with their respective leaderships," he told the Council.
"We are working towards reaching a comprehensive and sustainable peace agreement that will create security and stability for Yemen and its people, and constitute a signal of hope for the Middle East," he said, calling "on all parties to show political courage" and make the concessions necessary for a pact.
Khaled Hussein Mohammed Al Yemany, Permanent Representative of Yemen at the United Nations, said that, in spite of the difficult circumstances surrounding the negotiation process in Kuwait, his government had committed itself to peace. Expressing faith in ability of the process to bring an end to the suffering of the Yemeni people which was a direct result of the coup d''etat by Houthi rebels he said his Government had examined the ideas put forward by the Special Envoy. Nevertheless, there remained a "lack of seriousness" on the part of those who had carried out the coup, and those parties must renounce all unilateral measures.
The Yemeni government had proposed a plan for lasting peace, he said, noting that, among other things, the road map must include the release of heavy weapons and the withdrawal of the Houthi militias. Indeed, the success of the transitional period and the creation of a federal State hinged on those preconditions. From the first moments of the Kuwait negotiations, the Yemeni government had called for a full cessation of hostilities, but the other side had continued its acts of war without pause.
WAM/MMYS