General Debate under Item 10

Item 10: - Technical assistance and capacity-building

27 September 2018

Statement by: International-Lawyers.Org and Geneva International Centre for Justice (GICJ)

Mr. President,

As was repeatedly mentioned yesterday, Yemen is facing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, and is in desperate need of technical and humanitarian assistance from the international community. We call on all parties to the conflict to facilitate the entry and distribution of food, medicines, and other humanitarian assistance to the millions of Yemeni civilians in desperate need.

However, the humanitarian crisis will not end solely by providing aid to civilians. The UN and international community must work to end the conflict that has given rise to the crisis by providing any necessary technical assistance requested by the Yemeni government.

We remind this Council of the resolutions of the Security Council, which have demanded an end to the fighting and outlawed the arming of the Houthis and other destabilizing militia groups. All states need to support the legitimate government of Yemen in its efforts to craft a peaceful, political resolution and build the capacity of its national institutions.

Mr. President,

International-Lawyers.Org and Geneva International Centre for Justice applaud the continuing peace-making efforts of the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, and we urge the High Commissioner for Human Rights and other UN agencies to coordinate their activities and avoid sending mixed messages. An unfortunate example of this is the report of the Group of Experts, which the Houthi militia interpreted as providing justification for its cause and encouraged it to refuse to participate in the recent Geneva peace talks.

The UN must have a consistent approach that is aligned with Security Council resolutions and supportive of the Special Envoy’s peace efforts – because ending the conflict is the only lasting solution for Yemeni civilians.

Thank you.