2 December 2017 (UN News): Top officials from across the United Nations system called on Saturday for the Saudi-led coalition to fully lift its blockade of Yemen’s Red Sea ports, warning that unless commercial imports are resumed, “the threat of widespread famine in a matter of months is very real.”
The officials also announced that the United Nations is sending a team to Riyadh to discuss any concerns the coalition and Saudi Arabia may have in relation to these ports. “But we need the coalition to urgently grant unimpeded access for imports that are a lifeline for millions of people.”
They acknowledged that the partial lifting of the blockade of Yemen’s Red Sea ports in recent days is allowing humanitarian organizations to resume the provision of life-saving assistance to people in desperate need.
“But given the massive scale of Yemen’s humanitarian crisis, all this does is slow the collapse towards a massive humanitarian tragedy costing millions of lives. It does not prevent it,” said the UN leaders, who added: “Without the urgent resumption of commercial imports, especially food, fuel and medicines, millions of children, women and men risk mass hunger, disease and death.”
The appeal came in a joint statement by the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Administrator of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), Achim Steiner, The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, the Executive Director of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Anthony Lake, the Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), David Beasley, the Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), William Lacy Swing, and the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mark Lowcock.
