Ministry Statements & Speeches:
New Zealand welcomes the unanimous adoption of this resolution by the Council today and we applaud the role played by Jordan and the United Kingdom on this Council, and the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council in facilitating that outcome.
For New Zealand the two main purposes of the resolution are first that it emphasises the centrality of the agreed transition framework and by that I mean the GCC Initiative, the National Dialogue conference outcomes, and the Peace and National Partnership Agreement; it emphasises the centrality of that framework to the political transition in Yemen and secondly, it condemns recent unilateral action by the Houthi which undermines that agreed framework.
This resolution, Mr President is overdue. We regret that despite several opportunities this has been the first product the Council has been able to adopt since an armed group captured the Presidential Palace on the 20th of January. That action has been described, was described in this chamber last week, as a coup against the legitimate government of Yemen. It was also of course, a coup d'état against the transition process that had been formally endorsed by this Council.
Mr President, the situation in Yemen is still at very real risk of further deterioration and will certainly remain so while the President and Prime Minister remain under house arrest and we call for their very early release. We know, from the Special Adviser Jamal Benomar, that this Council's response to the crisis has been very closely watched in Yemen, and that, in the past, the parties have responded to our messaging. Against that background and given the close attention in Yemen to our response, the final agreement and achievement in this Council of unity is even more welcome.
Mr President, New Zealand is convinced all parties must now fully engage in the United Nations-brokered talks and do to so in the spirit of compromise directed towards achieving a political settlement that allows resumption of the political transition which was previously agreed and which also tackles some of the other serious issues faced by Yemen.
While today we have focused on the immediate crisis, there are many important issues which this resolution can only touch on – particularly the humanitarian consequences of the crisis, the continued threat of terrorist groups and the serious social and economic issues which four years ago led the people of Yemen to an agreed process of political transition, one that appeared to be a model for the rest of the region, a political transition that until the Houthis’ ill-judged intervention, appeared to be on a fragile, but positive path. Those issues are central to Yemen’s longer term stability. They must also be addressed and therefore Mr President, we agree with Spain and others that they deserve our continued attention and that we must remain seized of that matter.