U.N. Monitoring Unit to Oversee Yemen Cease-Fire Implementation
U.N. Monitoring Unit to Oversee Yemen Cease-Fire Implementation
UNITED NATIONS—A tentative deal between warring parties in Yemen is being hailed as a breakthrough by international diplomats even as they warn it must still be implemented on the ground.
A U.N. monitoring unit is expected to arrive in the region within days, led by a retired Dutch major general with peacekeeping experience, to see that terms of the deal are carried out.
“Being present in the field soon is an essential part of the confidence that needs to go with the implementation of this agreement,” U.N. Special Envoy Martin Griffiths told members of the U.N. Security Council at a special meeting Friday. He said a robust monitoring system was “urgently needed.”
Mr. Griffiths led the weeklong round of talks in Stockholm between Yemen’s Saudi-supported government faction and the opposition Houthi rebels backed by Iran. Both Iran and Saudi Arabia had expressed their support for the talks.
The deal reached Thursday called for an immediate cease-fire in the port city of Hodeidah and mutual redeployment of forces to other agreed locations. Western and Gulf officials said Saturday the cease-fire now is scheduled to begin at midnight on Monday. Hodeidah, a port city on the Red Sea, serves as a crucial entry point for humanitarian aid into Yemen.
The U.N. team will oversee the withdrawal of troops from the port area and ensure all sides were complying by the agreement. The team is being led by retired Dutch Maj. Gen. Patrick Cammaert, who has served in U.N. peacekeeping missions in Congo and in Ethiopia and Eritrea.
U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley said Friday that the Council would monitor the situation on the ground very closely and called on diplomats to be ready to act if any of the parties fail to keep their commitments.
Ms. Haley said the next step was to expand the cease-fire to include the entire city of Hodeidah to “show the world they are serious about achieving peace in Yemen.”
U.S. support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen has come under critical scrutiny in recent weeks. The killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggiin Istanbul by Saudi government agents and images of starving Yemeni children have drawn international disapproval.
The Senate voted on Thursday to cut off American military support for Saudi Arabia and its coalition fighting in Yemen. The vote defied President Trump’s position that U.S.-Saudi relations should not be affected by the aftermath of the uproar over Mr. Khashoggi’s killing and conclusions that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman ordered the killing.
Saudi Arabia has denied that Mr. Bin Salman was involved.
The Security Council is expected next week to vote to adopt a resolution, drafted by the U.K., calling for a cease-fire in the port city of Hodeidah and better humanitarian l, diplomats said. The resolution was placed on hold on the request of the U.S., Sweden and Saudi Arabia until talks concluded in Sweden, diplomats said.
The U.K. is expected to circulate the resolution as early as Monday.
Yemen’s ambassador reiterated the Saudi position that the Council doesn’t need to pass a new resolution and must work to implement existing ones.
“We have no time to lose,” said U.K. Ambassador Karen Pierce. “We need to bring about tangible improvements for the people of Yemen and we need to do that as swiftly as we can.”
The head of U.N.’s humanitarian agency Mark Lowcock told the Council that the people of Yemen have one message for the world: “this war needs to stop.”
The U.N. estimates that two thirds of Yemen’s population is food insecure and nearly half of the population or 10 million people are at the brink of starvation.
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