Time for UN Security Council to act on Yemen-Norwegian Refugee Council

The United Nations Security Council should break its eight-month silence on Yemen by demanding a complete lifting of the blockade and cessation of hostilities, the Norwegian Refugee Council said. The United Kingdom has proposed a presidential statement on the situation in Yemen which the Security Council will discuss this week. While Security Council resolutions are binding on all member-states, presidential statements are not.
“The Security Council has been shamefully silent for months on Yemen when it has the power to redress the colossal crisis unfolding there through a binding and meaningful resolution,” said Suze van Meegen, NRC’s Protection and Advocacy Adviser on Yemen. “Another weak presidential statement will have little effect on the ground, if any at all. The worst humanitarian crisis in the world deserves more than just an ‘expression of concern’.”
As the penholder on Yemen in the Security Council, the UK is in charge of drafting resolutions and statements related to Yemen. NRC called on the UK to either demonstrate that it can lead the council to take meaningful action on Yemen, or hand over the penholder responsibility to another member.