Al-Thawra Net
The Norwegian Refugee Council’s Secretary General, Jan Egeland confirmed that “The Security Council shamefully silent on Yemen”.
The UN Security Council has been shamefully absent on Yemen, Egeland said. “While children die, world leaders appear to be sitting idly by, as if this was inevitable. This is all man-made. Some governments that should have concentrated more on promoting peace have rather poured fuel onto the fire. They must insist on a political solution to the conflict and on keeping land, sea and air routes into Yemen open. A continuation of the blockade will starve an entire nation,” Egeland said.
He added that as humanitarians are faced with a blockade imposed by the Saudi-led Coalition that hinders aid from reaching Yemen, in addition to security and bureaucratic barriers to deliver lifesaving assistance within the country, “We are ready to respond, but without an end to the fighting, Yemenis will continue to suffer, and it will only get worse, “Egeland said
“Without aid, the situation in Yemen would be even worse, but humanitarian organizations alone cannot meet the massive scale of the needs,”Egeland added
Two years of full-scale war has driven Yemen to the verge of famine. 17 million people, or two out of three Yemenis, do not know from where they will get their next meal, NRC stated.
Yemen imports 90 per cent of its food. Restrictions on imports mean that food is not coming in the volume needed. Severe food shortcomings and a complete collapse of the economy have left humanitarian organizations trying to fill the gap left by a crumbling commercial sector Aid is difficult to deliver on the ground, with organizations facing permanent bureaucracies’ constants and regular interference by entities as they try to provide Assistance, NRCsaid
There are now mounting concerns that the ongoing fighting could have stopped the supply of lifesaving goods through the country’s main port in al-Hodeida at the Red Sea coast. A staggering 70 per cent of Yemen’s imports enter through the port, making it the most important lifeline for commercial and humanitarian supplies into the country, NRC added.
