14 May 2025
We, Denmark, France, Guyana, Panama, the Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, the United Kingdom and my own country, Greece – also Security Council signatories of the Shared Commitments on Women, Peace and Security – have gathered here today to express our unwavering support for the women and girls of Yemen and our grave concern over the lack of respect for their human rights and fundamental freedoms.
The decade-long conflict in Yemen has left 9.6 million women and girls needing humanitarian assistance, due to food insecurity, climate change, water scarcity, internal displacement, restricted livelihood opportunities, and poor healthcare.
The ailing economy and increase in female-headed households, force many women and girls into dangerous survival mechanisms, including coerced prostitution, human trafficking and child and early forced marriage. One third of Yemeni girls are married before the age of 18 and 1,5 million girls are deprived of education.
Given the foregoing, we emphasize the following three points:
First, on the political level, we urge all Yemeni actors to work towards a sustainable and permanent nation-wide ceasefire, with the full, equal, safe and meaningful participation of diverse groups of women at all stages of the negotiation process. We also call for a renewed, inclusive Yemeni-led and Yemeni-owned political process, under UN auspices, that will abide by the minimum 30% quota for women’s representation established by the National Dialogue Conference, as well as for the meaningful participation of women in the Government.
We support the work of the Special Envoy of the Secretary General for Yemen and his efforts to revitalize the peace dialogue, through comprehensive consultations with women representatives, from civil society organisations across Yemen. We also commend the United Nations Mission to support the Hudaydah Agreement (UNMHA) for its commitment to the WPS Agenda in all its activities, including through quick impact projects and demining actions.
On the economic level, we emphasize the important contribution women can make to the economic recovery and reforms of the country, job creation, reinforcing the state and society resilience.
Second, regarding the humanitarian situation, we call for strict adherence to international humanitarian law and the rapid, safe and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid. Women humanitarian workers are the lynchpin of effective humanitarian response, considering that they lead half of the humanitarian NGOs in Yemen. Any restrictions on their capacity to undertake their life-saving work are unacceptable.
We condemn the arbitrary detention and abuses in custody of all women humanitarian workers, UN personnel, diplomatic staff, political activists, journalists, civil society organisation leaders and human rights defenders in Houthi-controlled areas and we call for their immediate and unconditional release. We also condemn reprisals against women human rights defenders.
We commend the valuable contributions of women civil society organisations in peacebuilding, including safeguarding humanitarian access to the most vulnerable, evacuating civilians from conflict-affected areas and advocating for the opening of roads and crossings and the release of prisoners.
Third, concerning the protection of human rights, all parties must adhere to the rule of law. We demand that all restrictions on women’s freedom of movement be lifted, in particular in Houthi-controlled areas; this includes the anachronistic mahram (male guardian) requirement, which continues to curtail women’s autonomy, participation in public life and access to education.
We are also particularly concerned by and condemn, in the strongest terms, sexual and gender-based violence against women and girls, including internally displaced and refugee women and girls, and call for perpetrators to be held accountable and for a survivor-centred response, including adequate healthcare and psychosocial support.
In conclusion, as Security Council members, we reiterate our unwavering commitment to the achievement of a sustainable and lasting peace in Yemen, ensuring the protection, participation and socio-economic advancement of women and girls.
Thank you