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Delivered By: His Excellency Mohamed Abushahab, Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative 

UNOFFICIAL TRANSLATION

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Mr. President, 

I thank Mr. Hans Grundberg and Mr. Martin Griffiths for their thorough briefings. I also welcome the participation of Yemen and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in this meeting. 

Despite the end of the truce and the disruption of the political track due to the procrastination and actions taken by the Houthis, the international community and the people of Yemen are determined to end this war – which only prolongs their suffering. Therefore, we renew our support for all diplomatic efforts aimed at reaching a permanent ceasefire agreement and implementing additional economic and humanitarian confidence-building measures to pave the way for all parties in Yemen to engage in dialogue and reach a comprehensive political solution. 

The UAE commends the positive disposition of the Presidential Leadership Council and its efforts aimed at achieving stability throughout Yemen. We also express our firm support for the central role played by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to end the crisis in Yemen. We also value the mediation efforts undertaken by the Sultanate of Oman.

Mr. President, 

Achieving security and stability in Yemen requires the Houthi group to stop its terrorist activities and destructive agenda in Yemen. The record of Houthi violations includes a long series of repressive policies against the people of Yemen, as well as terrorizing, killing, and forcefully disappearing them. In addition, the Houthis continue to recruit children, impose their extremist ideologies, incite violence, and commit abuse against women. 

The Houthis’ repeated rejections of the proposals aimed at renewing the truce require the Security Council to take a stronger stance to discourage the Houthis from military escalation – which the UAE strongly condemns – in order to force them to seriously respond to UN and regional initiatives to end this war. For the Council, this includes adopting measures to enforce the arms embargo imposed on the Houthi terrorist group. We express again our deep concern over the continued violations of the arms embargo, which threatens regional and international peace and security. We have recently seen several seized shipments in transit to the Houthis that contained weapons, ammunition, and explosive materials. These shipments have also included components of missiles and drones that can be used in launching cross-border attacks. In this regard, we reiterate that any aggression by this group to the neighboring countries will be met with a firm response by the Arab Coalition.

From a humanitarian perspective, we stress the importance of de-escalation and building on the progress achieved during the truce. The Houthi group must stop its economic war that targets the economic interests of Yemen and end the restrictions it has imposed against humanitarian workers, particularly women. The UAE will continue its humanitarian efforts to advance the Yemeni economy and improve health and education throughout Yemen.

In conclusion, as we enter a new year, we hope that 2023 will pave the way towards peace in Yemen and the revival of its economy. This would enable the Yemeni people to focus their energies and capabilities on achieving sustainable development and creating a prosperous future for future generations.

Thank you, Mr. President.