The UN envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, on Tuesday (June 15) drew up before the UN Security Council a statement of the failure of his efforts to put an end to the deadly war in that country, in the 'after his three-year mission.
"
The parties to the conflict must be courageous enough and willing to choose
" the path of a political settlement "
rather than the continuation of the conflict.
During the three years of my mission in Yemen, we offered many opportunities to the parties, but to no avail,
”lamented the Briton, who must soon leave his post for those of UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs.
Read also: War in Yemen: 44 Ethiopians die of burns in a migrant camp
His successor has not yet been named. Three candidates, a British, a Swedish and a Japanese, are in the running, according to diplomats. “
A mediator is not responsible for war, nor for peace. Its role is to present to the parties the means to end the war,
”explained Martin Griffiths. "
It is with deep regret that I report to you today that the parties have still not overcome their differences,
" he added.
In their interventions, the US and UK blamed the Houthi rebels for the impossibility of reaching a peace deal in Yemen alone. The envoy specified that the latter, met at the end of May in Sana'a, did not intend to apply a national ceasefire and start peace negotiations until after agreements on the use of the port of Hodeida (west) and Sanaa airport, a city under their control. The Yemeni government, for its part, insists on a "
package, including the start of a ceasefire
" along with agreements on Hodeidah and Sana'a airport, he said. "
We have proposed different solutions to reconcile these positions.
Unfortunately, none of these suggestions were accepted by the parties.
I hope that the efforts undertaken by Oman and others following my own visits to Sanaa and Riyadh will bear fruit,
”the envoy said.
Since 2014, the war has killed tens of thousands of people in Yemen, according to various humanitarian organizations.
More than two-thirds of the 30 million inhabitants, facing increased risks of epidemics and famine, depend on international aid.
It is, according to the UN, the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.
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