Secretary-General Welcomes Yemen Prisoner-Release Agreement, Urges Plans to Free Remaining Detainees

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary‑General António Guterres:

The Secretary‑General welcomes today’s agreement between the parties to the Yemen conflict to release immediately 1,081 individuals who had been detained in connection with the conflict.

The Secretary‑General urges the parties to build on this momentum and finalize arrangements for the release of all remaining detainees.  He is grateful to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for its tireless efforts as co‑chair of the Supervisory Committee to ensure the implementation of the prisoner‑release agreement brokered in Sweden in 2018, as well as to the Government of Switzerland for hosting the parties over the past week.

The Secretary‑General calls on the parties to engage with his Special Envoy to agree on a joint declaration encompassing a nationwide ceasefire, economic and humanitarian measures and the resumption of a comprehensive, inclusive political process to end the war.