I now give the floor to Mr. Hans

Grundberg.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Uh Mr. President,

allow me to begin by expressing my

deepest sympathies for the civilians

suffering in your country and across the

wider region.

The people of Bahrain, like so many

across this region, have lived through

weeks of violence imposed upon them and

wholly undeserved.

We now look to the ceasefire between the

United States and Iran to help end this

conflict and begin lifting the long

shadow of uncertainty and fear it has

cast over the region.

The stakes for the people of the region,

including in Yemen, could not be higher.

Yemen has not been spared the

gravitational pull of this war.

When Ansar Allah launched attacks

against Israel at the end of March,

there was global concern that the war

would expand to another front.

I share that concern.

I was also alarmed that Yemen risked

again being drawn into a full-on

regional confrontation with devastating

consequences for its people.

So far, Yemen has avoided that fate, but

risks remain. I echo the Secretary

General's call on the parties to the

current conflict in the Middle East to

abide by the terms of the ceasefire, and

I call on Ansar Allah to refrain from

any further attacks.

Throughout the past 2 months, I have

engaged intensively with the Yemeni

parties, including Ansar Allah, as well

as regional and international actors.

From Amman and on trips to Aden, Moscow,

Riyadh, and Washington, D.C., I have

been emphasizing the need to safeguard

Yemen's peace process from regional

escalation, as well as to maintain

freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and

the Gulf of Aden.

The concerns about maritime security now

gripping the world have been live issues

in Yemen, the Red Sea, and the Gulf of

Aden since 2023.

And I reiterate the need for upholding

upholding freedom of navigation and

international maritime law.

Mr. President, my recent trip to Aden

was a reminder that after a decade of

conflict, Yemen has little margin to

absorb more shocks. The new cabinet

under the leadership of Prime Minister

Shayyal Zindani, whom I met in Aden, is

prioritizing efforts to stabilize the

economy,

>> [clears throat]

>> including regarding electricity

provision and public sector salaries

with the vital support of the Kingdom of

Saudi Arabia.

Two milestones deserve particular note:

the approval of the 2026 state budget,

the first in 7 years, and the conclusion

of Article 4 consultations between the

government and the International

Monetary Fund, the first in 11 years.

These are positive signs, but Yemen

remains highly exposed to the economic

repercussions of the regional

escalation, and as the global situation

has made clear, it is always the poorest

and the most vulnerable who bear the

heaviest burden.

Yemenis across the country have long

contended with inadequate public

services, delayed salaries, and rising

prices, and they will now have to

contend with import disruptions and

higher fuel and food prices triggered by

wider conflict in the Middle East.

Yemen is also very dependent on

remittances from GCC countries, which

are at risk of declining.

These pressures fall on a Yemeni economy

already weakened by the obstruction of

government oil and gas exports, by the

division of the Central Bank, and by the

broader weaponization of economic life

that has far too long

made ordinary Yemenis pay the price of

decisions taken over their heads.

My office continues to engage the

parties and other stakeholders in our

economic track, working to reduce

economic tensions and build arrangements

in which the parties have more to gain

from cooperation than confrontation.

These issues are inseparable from the

search for a sustainable political

settlement of the conflict.

Mr. Pres- Mr. President, the broad

de-escalation that has held inside Yemen

since the 2022 truce

remains a crucial achievement for the

parties to build on.

But there are worrying indications,

including reports of troop movements,

that this relative calm cannot be taken

for granted, particularly in a moment of

regional turmoil.

Moreover, Yemeni civilians continue to

suffer the consequences of an unsettled

conflict.

The devastating Ansar Allah shelling of

a Ramadan Iftar gathering in Hajjah

Governorate, as well as the increased

number of sniper incidents near the

front lines in Taiz, resulted in

civilian casualties, including children.

And I reiterate my call for

accountability and respect for

international humanitarian law.

I'm also concerned by the casualties

during recent demonstrations in Mukalla.

President Al-Alimi's call for an

investigation is a welcome step, and all

actors must exercise restraint. Such

incidents underscore the importance of

advancing dialogue and shared

understandings among Southerners, a

point reinforced by the civil society

voices I heard during my visit to Aden.

Turning [snorts] to Hodeidah, the United

The United Nations missions to support

the Hodeidah agreement concluded its

mandate on the 31st of March

in accordance with Security Council

resolution 2813.

My office will continue to support the

implementation of the agreement through

engagements with the parties, through

our offices in Aden, and Sana'a, and

Amman.

Achieving a nationwide ceasefire remains

the priority, and we will continue our

efforts to de-escalate front lines

across Yemen.

Mr. President, for the past 10 weeks,

the parties have been in direct

negotiations under UN auspices in Amman

on conflict-related detainees.

This is the longest round yet of

negotiations on this issue.

These talks show that negotiations on

issues of deep importance to the Yemeni

public remain possible even in today's

difficult climate.

While significant progress has been

made, the talks have not yet come to a

conclusion, and the parties need to make

additional compromises to unlock the

releases.

I urge the parties to redouble their

efforts and bring this process to a

positive conclusion, and I am and I

remain grateful to the Hashemite Kingdom

of Jordan for hosting these negotiations

and the International Committee of the

Red Cross for its vital role.

The absence of loved ones is also felt

deeply by the families of United

Nations, NGO, and embassy colleagues who

remain arbitrarily detained by Ansar

Allah.

Of our 73 United Nations colleagues

detained, several have been held

incommunicado throughout the duration of

their detention, while others have been

allowed irregular contact with their

families.

These detentions violate United Nations

privileges and immunities and are

crippling the United Nations ability to

carry out its mission with direct

consequences for the Yemeni people. I

continue to urge Ansar Allah to

immediately and unconditionally release

all detainees and to halt all criminal

proceedings which lack due process, and

I count on this Council's steadfast

support to push for their release.

Mr. President, the way forward for

Yemen's peace process is not without

challenges.

Every escalation in the region deepens

the trust deficit between the parties

and the concerns which with which Yemen

is viewed from beyond its borders.

But Yemenis need a solution for Yemen.

Their future should not be held hostage

to regional turmoil. An inclusive

political process remains the only

viable path to durably resolving the

conflict, delivering a secure and

prosperous future for Yemenis, and

providing the guarantees that the region

and the international community need,

including on freedom of navigation in

the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

Mr. President,

in a moment as uncertain as this, there

is often a temptation for conflict

parties to wait,

to let to let the dust settle, to watch

where the chips fall, and to hope that

they'll fall in one's favor,

>> [snorts]

>> to believe that the regional storm might

rearrange the table in ways that excuse

one from the discomfort of compromise.

However, to bet on the storm is to bet

on something no one fully controls.

The Yemeni parties must instead invest

in achieving a political settlement that

secures a better future for the Yemeni

people.

I call on this Council to continue its

concerted efforts to help ensure they

make this choice. Thank you very much,

Mr. President.

I thank Mr. Grundberg for his uh

briefing.

I now give the floor to Miss Edem

Wosornu.