Thank you Mr President. I would like to thank Under-Secretary-General DiCarlo, Ambassador Tirumurti and Dr Shaiter for briefing the Council today. Tensions in Libya have risen since we last met on this subject, so today’s discussion is particularly timely. I will make three points.

First, I would like to echo the Secretary-General’s call for de-escalation. All actors, internal and external, should refrain from any moves that could undermine stability or deepen divisions in Libya and threaten to undo the hard-won progress achieved over the last two years. The United Kingdom strongly supports Special Adviser Stephanie Williams and urges those on both sides of the current impasse to accept her offer to facilitate dialogue.

Second, as we’ve heard today, 2.8 million Libyans have made their aspiration for elections clear. We support Special Adviser Williams’ efforts to mediate between the House of Representatives and High State Council to establish a constitutional basis for elections. Libya’s political leaders must set aside narrow interests and engage seriously to address the underlying conditions that prevented elections from going ahead last December. Whilst Libya lurches between political crises, it’s Libyan people who continue to suffer from a lack of proper service delivery, an unstable economy, and fragile security.

Third, we call on all Libyan parties to protect the independence, integrity and reunification of public institutions. The National Oil Corporation should not be politicised and must be able to fulfil its duties without interference – attempts to shut down oil production are concerning and are only to the detriment of the Libyan economy and its people. Libyan public institutions are there to serve the whole of Libya and should be empowered to do so.

To conclude, Libya is at a crossroads. There is a real risk of dangerous escalation that could unravel the hard-won ceasefire and threaten Libya’s stability. It is now incumbent on all of us to facilitate a path to the elections the Libyan people are waiting for. Thank you, Mr President.

Thank you Mr President, and thank you SRSG Grundberg and USG Griffiths for your valuable and sobering briefings today.

Hans, the UK warmly welcomes the launch of your consultations with the parties this month. We commend your inclusive approach, which invites the views of a wide range of Yemenis, and we encourage all parties to engage constructively in line with their obligations under resolution 2624.

I would like to thank Council members for their efforts in the adoption of that resolution. It imposed, for the first time, an arms embargo on the Houthis as a whole and explicitly denounced the “Houthi terrorist group”. This is vital as we witness continued cross-border attacks on Saudi Arabia and the UAE, including last Thursday’s attack on a Saudi oil refinery.

It is important to highlight that resolution 2624 was also clear in its support for the continued maintenance of humanitarian access and commercial imports of food, fuel and other essential civilian commodities into all Yemen’s ports. The Council has not targeted humanitarian activity or trade.

Resolution 2624 also called for the immediate return of all US and UN staff to their families and for Houthi withdrawal from the US embassy. The United Kingdom strongly condemns the detention in February of an additional US staff member. We also call for the Houthis to release British National Luke Symons.

As we’ve heard from Martin today, across Yemen, the conflict continues to have a devastating human toll. The evidence from the IPC, and from today’s briefing, is clear: Yemen is experiencing drastically deteriorating food security. As seven million Yemenis risk starvation in 2022, and the numbers of those in famine-like conditions is expected to increase five-fold, the Yemen Pledging Conference convenes tomorrow in need of $4.27 billion. The United Kingdom calls on all donors, including those in the region, to step up.

Finally Mr President, I would like to end on a hopeful humanitarian note, by welcoming the signature this month of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Houthis and UN regarding the transfer of oil from the Safer tanker, as Martin briefed us. This is an important step; we must now all act together in support of the initiative.

Thank you, Mr President.