S/PV.6744 Security Council

At the outset, I should like to extend my congratulations to Ambassador Sir Mark Lyall Grant, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, for his competent and skilful management of the deliberations of the Security Council this month. I would also like to thank the Ambassador of Togo, who steered the Council’s proceedings last month with great skill and efficiency. The Security Council has just adopted presidential statement S/PRST/2012/8, on the situation in my country. In that regard, I should like to make the following comments. My Government expresses its gratitude to the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council and, in particular, to King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud of fraternal Saudi Arabia, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, as well as to the member States of the Security Council, especially the permanent members, and the donor community, for their efforts in helping us overcome the hardships we are currently experiencing. We would also like to express our gratitude to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his earnest endeavours and good offices, as well as to his Special Adviser Jamal Benomar and his team, in following up the Gulf Cooperation Council initiative and implementation mechanism. Since the signing of that initiative, my country has experienced a number of positive developments, including the establishment of a Government of national reconciliation and a military and security committee. Most important were the presidential elections held on 21 February, which enjoyed a high level of participation by the people of Yemen and brought to office His Excellency Mr. Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi Mansour as President of the Republic of Yemen. The Government of national reconciliation continues to face serious challenges that hinder the implementation of its development and economic programmes, including the suffocating economic crisis stemming from our limited resources and the stagnation in economic activity since 2011. The people of Yemen still continue to suffer as a result of ongoing shortages of electricity and water. In that regard, we count on the international community — especially our brothers from the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council — and look forward to the outcome of the ministerial meeting of the Group of Friends of Yemen that will be held in Riyadh on 23 May. Over the past year, the unstable political situation in Yemen and the terrorist attacks that we have experienced have had a negative impact on the humanitarian situation. According to United Nations statistics, the lives of 8 million Yemeni people are in jeopardy and they are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. The number of refugees and internally displaced persons — including from the governorates of Abyan, Sadah, Lahij, Hajjah, Adan, Amran and Taizz — has risen to 500,000. Those people, who are experiencing a humanitarian crisis, are being hosted in 11 of our 22 governorates. In spite the efforts of the Government to shelter and provide them with the necessary services, our limited resources prevent us from alleviating their suffering. In spite of the hardships we face in our country, Yemen hosts almost 1 million refugees from Somalia and the Horn of Africa, who, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, continue to flow into Yemen. Yemen is a partner of the international community in combating terrorism. We are also a country that has been affected by that scourge. My Government is committed to fighting terrorism as much as we can. At the same time, however, we count on the support of the international community to confront that challenge.

There are no more names on the list of speakers. The Security Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on its agenda. I would like to take this opportunity, on behalf of the delegation of the United Kingdom, to thank all the members of the Council, especially my colleagues the Permanent Representatives, their respective staff and the secretariat of the Council, for all the support they have given to us in the month of March. It has been a busy month, and one in which we rallied to consensus on several important issues on our agenda. We could not have done it without the hard work, support and positive contributions of every delegation and the representatives of the Secretariat, as well as the interpreters, meeting servicing staff and sound engineers. As we end our presidency, I know I speak on behalf of all Council members in wishing the United States delegation good luck in the month of April.