The United Nations and the crisis in Yemen

How has the UN been facilitating peace processes in Yemen? What are the resolutions adopted by the UNSC?

The crisis in Yemen has steadily escalated in recent weeks with the and the UAE and the on the Houthi-held territories in Yemen. The worsening crisis with wider geopolitical implications for the Gulf region has raised questions on what the international community, especially the UN, has done to resolve the issue. While the UN has failed to find a lasting ceasefire, let alone a settlement to the conflict, its different agencies have been working in Yemen since the crisis broke out in early 2011. It has established the Office of the Special Envoy to the Secretary-General on Yemen (OSESGY) to engage with all Yemeni political groupings and the Security Council (UNSC), has adopted many resolutions concerning Yemen, calling on all parties to respect the ceasefires. UN agencies are also in the forefront of providing humanitarian relief to the country.

In April 2011, the UN appointed a Special Advisor to the Secretary-General on Yemen. The Special Advisor played a critical role in mediating the early negotiations between warring parties in the southern Arabian country. He met with Yemeni leaders, foreign diplomats and the Yemenis demonstrating in squares around Sana’a. These negotiations later facilitated the signing of the first political transition agreement, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Initiative and its Implementation Mechanism, in November 2011.