Today the United Nations Security Council voted unanimously to adopt Security Council Resolution 2451, a UK-led resolution to bolster the UN Yemen peace process.
The new resolution, the first to be passed on the conflict in Yemen since 2016, is designed to build on the momentum generated by UN peace talks in Stockholm last week.
The resolution calls for a ceasefire in Hodeidah governorate as agreed in Stockholm and support for the work of the UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths.
The resolution will also authorise the UN to take on the monitoring and other tasks it has committed to doing in Stockholm.
The UK first circulated a draft resolution on 19 November, following Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt’s visits to Saudi Arabia, UAE and Iran where he encouraged all parties to accelerate efforts to resolve the Yemen crisis.
Following representations made to the UK, the UK decided to delay tabling the resolution to allow it to reflect developments made during the peace talks.
Last week the Foreign Secretary travelled to Stockholm to attend the Yemen peace talks and met with leaders of the delegations of both parties, becoming the first UK Minister to meet with the Houthis.
Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said:
This Resolution is an important step along Yemen’s peace process. The unequivocal backing from the UN Security Council proves without a doubt that the international community fully endorses a political solution to the conflict.
We must now focus all our efforts on addressing the urgent humanitarian needs of the people of Yemen and locking-in the historic agreements made by the parties in Stockholm. The world has an opportunity to prevent further devastation in Yemen, and the UK will continue to use all the diplomatic and humanitarian tools at our command to bring this terrible conflict to an end.
Further information
Follow this news feed: HM Government