Tomorrow (24 Jun), the Security Council will convene an informal closed videoconference (VTC) meeting, on Yemen. Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths and Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock are expected to brief and their statements will be webcast. The head of the UN Mission to support the Hodeidah Agreement (UNMHA), General Abhijit Guha, is expected to brief members during the closed session. Diplomatic sources told Yemen Details.
The sources said that with the hopes of having a more frank discusión on the reasons for the impasse with Griffith’s proposal.
The meeting formats reflect the temporary changes to the Council’s working methods due to the COVID-19 pandemic: while statements by Council members will not be webcast, as has been the case with previous informal open VTC meetings, members may choose to circulate their statements after the meeting, and they will be published in a Council document.
A source in the UN said "last word I had last Wednesday was that Houthis had agreed to a proposal by MG, who was going to Riyadh to try to get agreement with the govt and thus the reason for postponing last week’s SC meeting. Either way, I wasn’t counting on a deal to be reached"
The Houthis have listed new difficult demands, say the sources.
Sources said that the Houthis have now rejected the latest peace plan from Martin Griffiths, which has been accepted by the legitimate Yemeni government
One of the new Houthi demands/Amendments according to sources, is to be included in "The Oil Committee" determining the oil imports & sales for whole of Yemen. A demand which would be hard to accept by the legitimate Gov. they added.
Another Houthi demand according to the sources: "To eliminate the need for prior approval for flights heading to or from Houthi controlled areas. This is a must procedure due to heavy aerial traffic & to avoid any miscalculations. All flights from Aden adhere to this procedure".
Sources added that indeed the Houthis and the Gov. continue to make comments and edits while the Special envoy is trying to find a common ground working on the same text submitted to the 2 parties, and which was accepted by the Gov. but not by the Houthis.
Houthi refusal, according to Tallal Al Haj (a correspondent) sources, will force Griffith to go back to the drawing board in search of a new plan acceptable to all in search of peace in a ravaged Yemen with war, poverty and COVID19.
