Thank you, Madame President.
Madame President, Yemen today faces a more serious risk of return to large-scale conflict than at any point since the 2022 UN-mediated truce.
There has been an intensification of military activity along frontlines, with recent attacks by Ansar Allah in Ma’rib, Hadramawt, Mokha and beyond causing casualties among both military personnel and civilians. With regional trade and energy flows already under intense pressure from the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, Ansar Allah’s renewed attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden - which the Council condemned in its recent statement - risk deepening Yemen’s entanglement with the wider regional confrontation. These attacks also put seafarers’ lives at risk; two days ago, a missile attack on a vessel killed several crew members.
Tension had already been mounting prior to these developments. In July, an unauthorized flight from Tehran toward Sana’a was followed by airstrikes on Sana’a airport, and missile attacks on Abha airport and oil facilities in Saudi Arabia.
Madame President, I want to be clear about what Yemen stands to lose on this trajectory. For four years, and well beyond its formal expiry, the truce kept Yemen’s front lines relatively quiet. Remarkably, even through the regional turmoil since 2023, this calm mostly held inside Yemen, giving civilians the most sustained respite since the start of the conflict. But, as I have repeatedly emphasized, the truce was designed as a means, not an end. Its primary objective was to open the way to negotiations on a comprehensive settlement of the conflict. The parties did engage on a roadmap to that end, but that effort stalled following the regional escalation in 2023, and ultimately did not mature into a political process. Absent progress on the political process, the calm ushered in by the truce cannot hold indefinitely.
A return to large-scale fighting in Yemen now would come at an unforgiving moment: with Yemen’s state institutions fragmented by over a decade of conflict, its economy left with little margin to absorb another shock, and the wider region engulfed by war. For Yemenis, renewed war would once again place every ordinary ambition to study, to work, to build a life, at the mercy of the fighting. It would mean a new generation sent to front lines, instead of having the chance to reimagine and remake their country’s future. For this Council and the wider international community, it would mean one more conflict reignited in a region already aflame.
Madam President, perilous as this moment is, I am convinced that a negotiated off-ramp remains possible. In recent weeks, I have been engaging intensively with the Yemeni parties, with the support of regional actors, including on several trips to Riyadh and Muscat. I have been proposing ways to reverse the escalation and forge a credible path to a political solution. The Government of Yemen and Ansar Allah have already identified many of the required elements. And these are also familiar to the Council. My Office also regularly consults diverse Yemenis, including civil society and women's groups - any way forward must address their priorities and those of the wider Yemeni public.
First, the parties must immediately de-escalate and work towards a robust ceasefire. The calm along Yemen’s frontlines must be restored. Attacks and threats against shipping must stop, and freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden must be upheld. Cross-border attacks must stop. A mechanism for managing incidents and de-escalation already exists. Military representatives from the Government and Ansar Allah, together with the Saudi-led Joint Forces Command, have previously met under the United Nations auspices through the Military Coordination Committee. I urge them to make full use of this channel. And I also repeat my call on the parties to respect their obligations to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure.
The parties must also protect Yemen from being drawn further into the vortex of the already complex regional dynamics. Through de-escalation, they need to prioritize Yemen’s own national interests. I have stressed this imperative in all my engagements.
The second requirement is economic de-escalation. Yemen’s economy has itself become a frontline, with salaries, currency, trade, revenues, transport and essential services increasingly politicized. Addressing these issues will require the parties to negotiate arrangements in which they have more to gain from cooperation than confrontation. Resuming oil exports, with appropriate security guarantees for production and export infrastructure, would provide a critical source of income and it would also support the country’s recovery. Yemenis must be able to move freely across the country, and the parties should agree on measures to resume commercial flights to and from Sana’a airport. This was possible under the 2022 truce, and it can and should be possible again. Commercial vessels must continue to reach Yemeni ports, delivering the food and other essential goods Yemenis depend on. The parties will also need to negotiate durable arrangements on the economic issues that touch Yemenis' daily lives more directly, including the payment of civil servant salaries, and the restoration of essential services.
The third requirement is sustained engagement with the United Nations to consolidate these gains and relaunch an inclusive, Yemeni-owned political process. This remains the only credible path to comprehensively ending the conflict, ensuring that differences are resolved through dialogue rather than force, and establishing legitimate and accountable institutions that reflect Yemen’s political and social diversity.
We can turn this plan into reality, but mediation cannot substitute for political will. The Yemeni parties must choose dialogue – and they have every reason to do so. No party controls where escalation leads; the only certainty is that the Yemeni people will pay the price. Negotiations demand compromise, but the parties can shape their course; and it is the Yemeni people who stand to gain.
Madam President, before closing I would like to update the Council on two other matters. First, you will recall that in May, the parties agreed under UN auspices to release more than 1,600 conflict-related detainees. Preparations to implement the releases are progressing, albeit slowly – and I am concerned that the wider escalation could stall this process further. The parties have reaffirmed their commitment to me, and I welcome these assurances. Yet, commitment needs to translate into implementation. I urge the parties to cooperate with the International Committee of the Red Cross to complete the remaining technical and operational preparations as swiftly as possible.
Second, for far too long, seventy-three United Nations personnel, alongside colleagues from non-governmental organizations, civil society and diplomatic missions, have been arbitrarily detained by Ansar Allah. Despite sustained United Nations efforts to find a solution, we have yet to see progress towards their releases. And I urge this Council to maintain its attention and use every available avenue of influence to help secure their immediate and unconditional release.
Madam President, four years of calm can be lost in a few weeks of escalation. I am not asking this Council today merely for statements of support. I am asking every member with influence over the parties to use it to steer Yemen away from the battlefield and back to the negotiating table.
Thank you very much.
