Secretary-General Welcomes Announcement of Unilateral Ceasefire in Yemen

The following statement by UN Secretary-General António Guterres was issued today:

I welcome the announcement by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on behalf of the “Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen”, of a unilateral ceasefire in Yemen.  This can help to advance efforts towards peace, as well as the country’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

I now call upon the Government of Yemen and Ansar Allah to follow through on their commitment to immediately cease hostilities.  I also call on the Government and the Houthis to engage with each other, in good faith and without preconditions, in negotiations facilitated by my Special Envoy, Martin Griffiths.

Only through dialogue will the parties be able to agree on a mechanism for sustaining a nationwide ceasefire, humanitarian and economic confidence-building measures to alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people, and the resumption of the political process to reach a comprehensive settlement to end the conflict.