Informing humanitarians worldwide 24/7 — a service provided by UN OCHA

Yemen

Update on Yemen Peace Talks, 31 May 2016

There were three sessions within the Yemeni Peace talks in Kuwait today. The delegation of the Government of Yemen was briefed by a United Nations expert on implementation mechanisms relating to withdrawal, the hand-over of weapons and re-integration adopted by countries that had undergone similar conflicts. Discussions also revolved around variations of a roadmap towards a peaceful comprehensive solution.

During the second session, the UN Special Envoy for Yemen focused with the delegation of Ansarullah and the General People’s Congress on the importance of reaching a solid comprehensive agreement and elaborated on the need to have guarantees to implement the solutions reached in Kuwait.

The parties’ representatives in the prisoners' committee renewed their commitment to present initial feedback on the lists that were exchanged earlier this week in order to release a number of detainees before Ramadan. The Committee discussed a draft principles agreement to resolve this issue in the long term.

The Special Envoy of the UN Secretary General for Yemen stated that “reports from several Yemeni cities are indicative of the magnitude of suffering the Yemeni people are going through in light of shortages in basic services. This suffering should, however, turn into an incentive to reach a rapid and comprehensive solution, especially as we approach the Holy month of Ramadan. We continue to urge the parties to make concessions and put the interests of Yemen and Yemenis above all. It is about time that all the parties propose solutions away from win or lose calculations”.

31 May 2016, Kuwait