During her visit to Saudi Arabia, the German Foreign Minister also met her Yemeni counterpart, Mubarak. She sees lasting peace for her country only with the help of the United Nations.
According to Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, a ceasefire in the civil war country Yemen must be brokered by the United Nations. This is a prerequisite for a “lasting, stable peace,” said the Green politician after a meeting with Yemeni Foreign Minister Ahmed bin Mubarak in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
For this, all actors must be involved and support the UN special representative for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, demanded Baerbock.
21 million Yemenis dependent on humanitarian aid
First, Baerbock met with the UN coordinator for Yemen, David Gressly. The humanitarian situation in Yemen is catastrophic. According to information from the federal government, 67 percent of the country’s population on the Arabian Peninsula is dependent on aid. That’s about 21 million people, including about eleven million children. Baerbock spoke of “one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world”. More than 400,000 children went to bed hungry every night.
Rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is fighting in Yemen against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels who overran the country in 2014 and control large parts of the north.
Against the background of the current rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran, the chances of a relaxation in Yemen are better than they have been for years. Riyadh is looking for a way out of the costly conflict in which, according to UN estimates, at least 377,000 people lost their lives as a result of the direct and indirect consequences of the war.
According to the federal government, Germany was the second largest humanitarian donor to Yemen last year with around 198 million euros. In February, Germany announced a further 120 million euros for this year. A major problem for the implementation of humanitarian aid is limited access to those in need.