I am concerned about crisis in Yemen and the plight of the Yemeni people who are caught up in the conflict. That is why I am proud that the UK is leading the international community to do more to respond to the crisis in Yemen. I welcome the new package of UK aid, worth £160 million, to help fight coronavirus and address the ongoing humanitarian crisis. It is expected that this package will provide over 700,000 medical consultations, train 12,000 healthcare workers to work safely in a covid-19 environment, and provide a much-needed boost to nearly 4,000 health centres to continue providing existing health services.
Since the conflict began, the UK has committed £970 million of funding, which has helped meet the immediate food needs of millions of Yemenis, treated thousands of children for malnutrition and provided over one million people with improved water supply and basic sanitation.
The UK’s long-standing position on Yemen is that there is no military solution to this conflict, and only a political settlement can bring long-term stability to Yemen and tackle the worsening humanitarian crisis. I have been assured that the UK is not a party to the military conflict as part of the Saudi-led coalition and until the Government retakes export license decisions in line with the Court of Appeal’s judgment, or a successful appeal against the judgment concludes, the Government is under an obligation not to grant any new licences to export items to Saudi Arabia for possible use in the conflict in Yemen.
The UK has been at the forefront of international efforts to bring a peaceful solution to the appalling conflict in Yemen, fully supporting the efforts of the UN Secretary-General and the UN Special Envoy’s peace plan. I fully support the efforts of the UN Secretary-General and the UN Special Envoy's call for all parties to engage in urgent political talks and de-escalate the conflict. A political settlement is crucial to bringing long-term stability to Yemen and to addressing the worsening humanitarian crisis.
