S/PV.6916 Security Council

Under rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure, I invite the representative of Yemen to participate in this meeting. The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. I should like to welcome the return of the members of the Council and the Secretariat who took part in the Security Council mission to Yemen. At this meeting, the Security Council will hear briefings by the co-leads of the Security Council mission to Yemen: His Excellency Sir Mark Lyall Grant and His Excellency Mr. Mohammed Loulichki. I now give the floor to Sir Mark Lyall Grant. Sir Mark Lyall Grant (United Kingdom): As this is the first time that I am addressing the Security Council in the Chamber under your presidency, Sir, perhaps I could take this opportunity to congratulate you and the Republic of Korea on assuming the presidency of the Security Council for the month of February and also to thank very much Ambassador Masood Khan and the delegation of Pakistan for their stewardship of the Council in the month of January. Mr. President, as you will be aware, the Security Council’s visit to Yemen on 27 January achieved its objectives, which were to evaluate the implementation of resolution 2051 (2012) and to assess the progress made on the political transition. As co-lead with my Moroccan colleague, I would like to brief colleagues on our meetings with the President, the Military Committee and the United Nations country team. I will then invite Ambassador Loulichki to speak on the meetings with the Prime Minister, the national dialogue preparatory committee and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary-General. But first, I would like to thank the Special Adviser, Mr. Jamal Benomar, and the Resident Coordinator, Mr. Ismail Ould Sheikh Ahmed, as well as their respective teams, for supporting this mission. I would also like to convey my special appreciation for the excellent work of the Department of Safety and Security, which ensured our security throughout the visit. President Mansour updated the Security Council on the transition timeline. He reported that phase one, which had involved military restructuring and consolidated gains against Al-Qaida, was now complete. Yemen had been saved from civil war thanks to the GCC initiative and Security Council attention, but deep challenges remained. Phase two would focus on the national dialogue, leading to elections in February 2014. That dialogue would begin imminently. As the Council is aware, since then President Mansour has announced that the national dialogue would start on 18 March. The President made a direct and clear appeal to the Security Council for continued support and called for strong measures to be taken against those individuals who were undermining the process. A new Yemen, built on the aspirations of the youth who had occupied the squares, was now needed. For its part, the Security Council mission underlined the need for the transition timeline to remain on track. Important milestones remained, including passing the transitional justice laws, the launch of the national dialogue, and the Yemeni Government agreeing the mutual accountability framework for development pledges. Similar themes were discussed with the Military Committee. The Military Committee positively assessed the recent decrees to unify command structures and said that the focus would now be on reforming the Ministry of Interior. The Defence Minister argued that the Yemeni military did not use children in armed conflicts and reaffirmed his commitment to cooperating fully with other law-enforcement agencies. The United Nations country team gave a briefing on the troubling humanitarian situation. Half of Yemen’s population of 24 million did not have access to clean water and sanitation; 10 million people did not have sufficient access to food; more than 6 million people lacked access to basic health care; and 1 million children suffered from acute malnutrition. The 2013 Yemen humanitarian response plan required further financial support. On the economic front, 6 million young people between the ages of 15 and 28 were unemployed. President Mansour called on the Friends of Yemen, especially ahead of the next meeting, to be held in London on 7 March, to transform the $8 billion in international pledges into concrete assistance. As many of us observed during last week’s wrap- up meeting (see S/PV.6914), the Yemeni Government continues to welcome Security Council engagement and expects it to continue. I hope that the Council is capable of doing so. I shall now pass over to Ambassador Loulichki to brief the Council on the remainder of the trip.

I thank Ambassador Sir Mark Lyall Grant for his briefing. I now give the floor to Mr. Mohammed Loulichki.

I should like at the outset to congratulate you, Sir, on your assumption of the presidency of the Council this month and to extend my gratitude to His Excellency Ambassador Masood Khan, who presided over the Council during the month of January. I wish also, like my colleague from the United Kingdom, to congratulate all those who contributed to the success of the Security Council’s visit to Yemen, and to express our gratitude to Mr. Jamal Benomar for the efforts he has made on behalf of the Secretary-General. I would ask our colleague from Yemen to transmit my most heartfelt gratitude to the people and the Government of Yemen. To add on to what was said by my colleague, Sir Mark Lyall Grant, I would like to summarize our meeting with the President of the Government, the Ministers and the Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the national dialogue preparatory committee. During our meeting with the Head of Government and the Ministers, the Security Council expressed its satisfaction at the efforts undertaken by the National Consensus Government, especially with respect to all its achievements at the level of security and the provision of basic services. The Security Council expressed its support for the efforts undertaken by the Government for the success of the transition period in Yemen. The leader of the Government’s statement focused on the transition and the obstacles that the transition is encountering, especially at the political level. He also urged the Security Council not to hesitate to act firmly in order to stand up to anyone who might wish to undermine the political process aimed at launching the national dialogue. The leader of the Government reaffirmed that the national dialogue would cover every issue of importance to the country and would help to rebuild national unity on a new foundation. The interactive dialogue between the Security Council and the Yemeni Government considered the following issues: the continuing delay in the national reconciliation process and an accounting of the financial pledges made to Yemen. With regard to the meeting between the Security Council, the Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Group of Friends of Yemen, the Council’s mission commended the GCC on the role it has played in ensuring the success of the transition period in Yemen, as well as of the executive mechanism set up for that purpose. The Security Council also commended the GCC’s political and financial support for Yemen and urged it to continue its efforts. The Secretary- General of the GCC also expressed his satisfaction with the Council’s visit to Yemen. He considered the messages we are sending to Yemen and to its donors and investors to be very clear. Also addressed were the issues of granting immunity to the outgoing President; the management of pledges; the risk of failure should there be further delays in adopting the constitution, and the question of the South of the country and the GCC’s refusal to cooperate with requests concerning the South. The third meeting was with the preparatory committee for the national dialogue. The Security Council mission commended the committee’s achievements and the reports submitted for the President’s consideration. It also encouraged all Yemenis working to implement the transition process and who have devoted themselves to helping the national dialogue succeed through confidence-building measures and transparency, which will enable the country to move on to the next phase, the referendum on the constitution and the organization of elections, both parliamentary and presidential. At its meeting with the preparatory committee, the mission heard an address by the Chair of the committee, as well as statements by various representatives of Yemeni society within the committee. All recognized the importance of the Security Council’s mission to Yemen and expressed the wish that the Council continue to support the transition phase under way in Yemen. By way of a conclusion, I would like to express our satisfaction with the success of this mission, which has enabled the Council to examine up close the progress made in Yemen as well as the obstacles that must be overcome in order to achieve security and stability there. It is now incumbent on the Council to monitor the situation and the implementation of the next phases of the GCC initiative.

On behalf of the Council, I would like to express our appreciation to all the members of the Security Council and the Secretariat who participated in the mission for the manner in which they discharged their important responsibilities on the Council’s behalf. There are no more names inscribed on the list of speakers. The Security Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on its agenda.