Minister Jean Asselborn;
Credit: gouvernement.lu
On Thursday 17 March 2022, Luxembourg's Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Jean Asselborn, participated by videoconference in the high-level pledging event organised by Sweden, Switzerland and the United Nations for the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.
Minister Asselborn said: "While all eyes are on the humanitarian crisis caused by Russian aggression against Ukraine and we are all working very hard to address it, we must not forget the people of Yemen, who are suffering from war and destruction for more than seven years".
During his speech, Minister Asselborn announced a contribution of €2 million from Luxembourg in 2022 to support the response to the crisis in Yemen, which is considered one of the worst humanitarian crises in recent times. Under the coordination of the Minister for Cooperation and Humanitarian Action, Franz Fayot, this support will be channeled through the World Food Program (WFP), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Common Humanitarian Fund of the UN for Yemen, as well as non-governmental organisations. Over the past two years, Luxembourg has also exceeded its pledges for Yemen by a total of €970,000.
According to UN agencies, the food crisis in Yemen is on the brink of disaster and is likely to worsen further in the second half of this year. The number of people in a situation of acute food insecurity could thus increase from seventeen million to more than nineteen million during this year. The number of people experiencing catastrophic levels of hunger (starvation conditions) could rise from 31,000 people currently to 161,000 people in the second half of this year.
Since the conflict remains the main cause of hunger in Yemen, Minister Asselborn called upon an urgent appeal for the immediate cessation of attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure. "Only a negotiated political solution, involving all the parties concerned, including civil society, women and young people, can put an end to the conflict in Yemen", underlined Minister Asselborn.
