UN welcomes Yemen detainee release deal

The breakthrough followed weeks of direct negotiations held in Amman under UN auspices, according to a statement issued by Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General Farhan Haq.

“The Secretary-General welcomes the deal reached between the parties to the conflict in Yemen to release more than 1,600 conflict-related detainees,” the statement said.

UN chief António Guterres urged all sides to move swiftly to implement the agreement in cooperation with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to ensure families are reunited as soon as possible.

He also called on the Yemeni government and the Houthi movement to continue efforts toward further detainee releases in line with the 2018 Stockholm Agreement, which called for the release of all conflict-related detainees.

The Secretary-General thanked the ICRC for its partnership with the United Nations as co-chair of the supervisory committee overseeing the detainee release mechanism established under the Stockholm accord.

Guterres also expressed gratitude to Jordan for hosting the latest round of negotiations, while acknowledging Oman and Switzerland for facilitating previous talks related to the detainee issue.

The UN chief urged both sides to build on the momentum generated by Thursday’s agreement and engage constructively with the UN Special Envoy for Yemen to advance an inclusive political process aimed at securing a lasting peace.

At the same time, Guterres renewed calls for the Houthis to immediately and unconditionally release all arbitrarily detained personnel from the United Nations, non-governmental organisations, civil society groups and diplomatic missions.

He stressed that UN personnel, including Yemeni nationals working for the organisation, enjoy immunity under international law and must be allowed to carry out their duties independently and without obstruction.

“The United Nations system is determined to work through all possible channels to secure their safe release,” the statement added.