The United Nations envoy facilitating peace talks on Yemen announced that as the discussions wind down for a one-month break, the process will enter a “new phase,” during which “the focus will be on working with each side separately to crystalize precise technical details.”

“We depart Kuwait today but the Yemen peace talks continue. The structure and mechanism will change during the coming weeks so that we give the parties space to consult with their leaderships,” UN Special Envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said of the talks, which have been hosted by Kuwait for the past three months, between a Yemeni Government delegation and a delegation of the General People’s Congress and Ansar Allah.

Meanwhile in Yemen

“We will work with each party separately to crystalize the precise technical details. I once again repeat that a lasting solution is one which is worked upon with care, study and consideration. Every rushed solution comes truncated and incomplete,” he added.

Meanwhile in Yemen

He stressed that the solution for the economic crisis depends on the political solution: “The economic situation has seen a serious decline and the economic indicators are disconcerting if not dangerous. I am sounding a warning for those involved in the internal affairs of Yemen. The alarm is being sounded strongly for the economy and this is a direct result of the war. There will be no economic solution except through a lasting political solution,” he explained.

Meanwhile in Yemen

In his closing statement, he cited to the most significant compromises arising from the meetings of the previous weeks, touching on the following points:

• Renewal of their commitment to the terms and conditions of the Cessation of Hostilities, and to urgently activate the mechanisms for its implementation;
• Activation of the De-escalation and Coordination Committee in Dhahran al-Janoub and Local Security Committees in order to strengthen respect for the Cessation of Hostilities;
• Facilitation of the adoption of urgent measures to ensure unhindered access for humanitarian aid and basic goods and to address the economic situation;
• Facilitation of the urgent release of all political prisoners, and all individuals under house arrest or arbitrarily detained including those mentioned in UN Security Council Resolution 2216 (2015);
• Abstention from any acts, escalation or decisions likely to undermine the prospects of finalizing these negotiations and reaching an agreement;
• Conducting a series of consultations between the delegations and their respective leaderships in the coming phase on the ideas, which were discussed during the talks and study them in detail;
• Continuation of consultations and resumption of direct talks within one month from the submission of this statement at a place to be agreed upon;
• Reaffirming the continued positive spirit in engaging with any and all matters, which may facilitate reaching a complete, comprehensive and permanent solution to the conflict in Yemen; and
• To that end, addition to the delegations, to the next round of talks, military experts in order to provide technical support and advice in their area of expertise.

Meanwhile in Yemen

“We must continue to urge the parties to initiate a series of confidence-building measures and it is their duty to continue the releases of detainees and refrain from adopting unilateral measures,”  he said.

Noting the difficult situation in the country, Mr. Ould Cheikh Ahmed raised the alarm regarding the faltering economy, and called on the two sides to unify their efforts to ease the increasing burden of suffering on the Yemeni people.

Meanwhile in Yemen

On Saturday fighting was reported on the Yemeni-Saudi border, where a Saudi border guard was killed by fire directed from the Yemeni side, the Saudi state news agency SPA said citing a security spokesman.

Meanwhile in Yemen

Wrapping it up with a tidy bow, Special Envoy noted preparations for another round of direct talks at a time and place to be announced. [01]

Meanwhile in Yemen

Jamila Hanan, an advocate and hardworking activist for the Yemeni people, has a few words of wisdom for Special Envoy Ahmed.

The world must raise their voices louder to save the Yemenis – because the United Nations’ leaders are very hard of hearing, and they are also blind, and apparently have forgotten their responsibility to protect the vulnerable nations – and this is the case worldwide, not just in Yemen.

It is time for the average person to pay more attention to what the United Nations is doing, and not doing. Personally, I feel abandoned by the United Nations, by the fact that I am now living during a time in history that our UN leaders are corrupt, weak and greedy – to the extent of turning their backs on the deaths and suffering of millions of children in the small, impoverished country of Yemen – suffering and deaths that could be stopped – but instead are accepted with impunity.

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