Human Rights Council
Thirty-fifth session, 6 to 23 June 2017
General Debate Item 10
21 June 2017
Delivered by: Ms Alice Wickens
This is a joint statement by EAFORD and Geneva International Centre for Justice.
We wish to call attention to the desperate situation in Yemen. This country remains under siege due to the radical Houthi miltias, who are inflicting a campaign of horror and destruction on Yemeni citizens. The Houthi attacks are unjust acts of aggression, fuelled by Iran, a country which is exerting its influence and control throughout the entire region.
As the chaos continues, Yemen has been torn apart. In 2015, a senior UN aid official stated that 18 million Yemeni people were in need of some kind of humanitarian assistance. Two years later, this situation has only deteriorated, and in March 2017, the UN World Food Programme warned that just 3 months worth of food remained inside the country.
Mr President,
We wish to tell you that it is not too late to stop the devastation of Yemen. Nor is it too late to prevent children from being left to die of famine and curable diseases, while food security, sanitation, water, medicine and shelter all become increasingly unattainable.
Yet in order to do so, this Council and the international community must finally take action to halt the illegal interference of Iran and the Houthi militia, whose actions are hindering the achievement of peaceful settlements, and which are an assault on Yemen’s sovereignty and security.
Thank you
