Hans Grundberg urges ceasefire adherence, presses for release of detained UN staff and warns of Yemen’s economic peril

Hans Grundberg briefed the Security Council on Yemen, urging parties to uphold the ceasefire and calling on Ansar Allah to halt further attacks and to immediately and unconditionally release detained United Nations staff.

Grundberg opened by expressing sympathy for civilians across the region and said the Council should look to the ceasefire between the United States and Iran to help end the wider conflict and reduce regional uncertainty. “We now look to the ceasefire between the United States and Iran to help end this conflict and begin lifting the long shadow of uncertainty and fear it has cast over the region,” he said.

He described the risk that Yemen could be drawn into a broader regional confrontation after Ansar Allah’s attacks on Israel in late March, but said Yemen has so far avoided full escalation. Grundberg said he has engaged intensively with Yemeni parties and regional and international actors — from Amman and trips to Aden, Moscow, Riyadh and Washington, D.C. — to safeguard Yemen’s peace process and to maintain freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

On economic matters, Grundberg highlighted two milestones as signs of progress: the approval of the 2026 state budget, the first in seven years, and the conclusion of International Monetary Fund Article IV consultations, the first in 11 years. He warned, however, that Yemen remains “highly exposed to the economic repercussions of the regional escalation,” citing risks of import disruption, higher fuel and food prices and likely declines in remittances from Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

Grundberg identified structural obstacles that have weakened the economy — obstruction of oil and gas exports, the division of the Central Bank and what he described as the broader weaponization of economic life — and said his office is engaging the parties on an economic track to reduce tensions and create incentives for cooperation.

He also recorded recent civilian harm: the “devastating Ansar Allah shelling of a Ramadan Iftar gathering in Hajjah Governorate” and an increased number of sniper incidents near front lines in Taiz, which he said resulted in civilian casualties, including children. He called for accountability and respect for international humanitarian law.

Discussing detainees, Grundberg said that “of our 73 United Nations colleagues detained, several have been held incommunicado,” called those detentions violations of United Nations privileges and immunities and urged Ansar Allah to release all detainees and to halt criminal proceedings that lack due process. He described ongoing negotiations in Amman under UN auspices — the longest round yet on conflict‑related detainees — and thanked the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan for hosting the talks and the International Committee of the Red Cross for its role.

He noted that UN missions supporting the Hodeidah agreement concluded their mandate on 31 March in accordance with Security Council resolution 2813 but said his office would continue to support implementation through UN offices in Aden, Sana’a and Amman. In closing, he urged investment in an inclusive political settlement as the only viable path to durable resolution and asked the Council to continue concerted efforts on behalf of Yemen.

The presiding Chair thanked Mr. Grundberg for his briefing and gave the floor to Miss Edem Wosornu.