(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) NEW YORK, Feb 19 (KUNA) -- The Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen reported Tuesday that the Yemeni parities made significant progress on implementation of the Stockholm Agreement, including the first phase of the Hodeidah redeployment plan.
Briefing the UN Security Council via video-teleconference, Martin Griffiths welcomed the role of Lt.-Gen Michael Lollesgaard - newly appointed as Head of the United Nations Mission in support of the Hodeidah Agreement (UNMHA) - in leading the negotiations.
He said that redeploying from the ports of Saleef and Ras Isa, followed by phase two redeployments in Hodeidah port and parts of the city, will facilitate humanitarian access to the Red Sea Mills, which holds enough food to feed 3.7 million people for one month.
"There is momentum in Yemen," he said, calling upon all sides to begin implementing the Agreement without further delay.
Describing the December 2018 accord as a breakthrough representing a major shift, he said agreement on phase one of the Hodeidah plan is also a sign that the parties are committed to maintaining the momentum.
"It demonstrates that the parties are able to deliver on their commitments to turn words into tangible progress on the ground," he said, adding that it also reinforces trust among the parties and demonstrates political will.
"With the beginning of the implementation of the Hodeidah Agreement, we now have the opportunity to move from a logic of war to a logic of peace," Griffiths stressed.
Citing further progress, the UN envoy said the parties have intensified efforts to follow up on a prisoner-exchange agreement and reaffirmed their commitment to a statement of understanding on Taiz, agreed in Stockholm.
"We need to agree on small things now, not big things later. No one is suggesting the process is straightforward," he underscored.
Stressing that Taiz is a highly symbolic place for Yemenis, he said the area has seen some of the worst of the conflict, but tangible progress can now be seen.
However, Hodeidah remains the war's centre of gravity, he said, underlining that efforts towards a political solution must be the real "centre." The Hodeidah Agreement announced today allows for looking beyond the Stockholm Agreement, he continued, reiterating, "We have an obligation to focus our minds on finding a political solution. We need to start talking about the future.
"The beginning of a discussion on political and security arrangements would be a major step forward and an important statement of intent from the parties that they are determined, finally, to bring this conflict to a close," he went on.
Yet, the Stockholm Agreement was only ever intended to be a preliminary step, he noted, adding that there is a general desire among stakeholders for a peaceful settlement to the conflict, and a comprehensive solution is the only way.
"We have an overriding responsibility to build on the momentum created in Stockholm towards resolving the conflict, not least because the alternative is unimaginable," Griffiths said.
He stated that the forthcoming third High-level Pledging Event for the Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen, to be held in Geneva on 26 February, will estimate the financing needs of humanitarian programmes.
"This reminds us that the cost of the war, if our collective efforts fail, will rise steeply at the tragic expense of the people in Yemen," he added.
At the end of their consultations in Stockholm, Sweden, under UN auspices on December 6-13, 2018, the Yemeni parties agreed on redeployment in Hodeidah city and the ports of Hodeidah, Salif and Ras Issa; an executive mechanism on activating the prisoner exchange agreement; and a statement of understanding on Taiz. (end) asf.gb
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