11 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –
The United Nations has welcomed on Monday the progress in the talks to end the war unleashed in 2015, considering the hopes that peace will be achieved in the country.
The spokesman for the UN Secretary General, Stéphane Dujarric, explained at a press conference that the visit of a Saudi and an Omani delegation to the capital, Sanaa, to address the peace process “is a welcome step towards reducing of tensions in Yemen and in the region”.
“We very much hope that he can contribute to our peace efforts, led by (UN Special Envoy for Yemen) Hans Grundberg for the renewal of the truce in Yemen and the restart of the intra-Yemeni political process,” he added.
Dujarric explained that the special envoy has been traveling in the region in recent weeks in order to “explore options to extend and broaden the truce and to resume the political process and avoid any escalation.” “We very much hope that all parties participate in this,” he has reiterated.
Likewise, he has indicated that, despite the fact that the international organization does not participate in all the debates because “it is not necessary”, what is “important is that all the parties work in favor of the pertinent resolution of the Security Council and the conversations facilitated by the ONU”.
Yemeni government sources indicated that the delegations present in Sanaa will present a draft peace agreement already endorsed by the internationally recognized government, now represented by the Presidential Leadership Council.
The proposals include a six-month extension of the UN-brokered ceasefire, direct talks between the Houthis and the Yemeni government under UN auspices and a two-year transition period. It also includes the removal of the blockade of ports and airports in areas controlled by the rebels, the payment of officials and the reopening of roads.
This process, which includes the unification of the institutions and the total exchange of prisoners of war, would take place in three phases and would involve Saudi Arabia and Iran — allies of the government and the insurgents, respectively — and Oman as a mediator.
The war in Yemen has ended up plunging what was one of the poorest countries in the world into the worst humanitarian catastrophe at present, according to the United Nations. More than 21 million Yemenis – two thirds of the population – will need humanitarian aid this year and 17 million of them will need to receive it urgently to survive.
The conflict has left almost 380,000 dead -more than 85,000 of them children-, either due to the fighting or hunger and disease, to which four million displaced people must be added, according to data considered by the agencies of the UN.
