His Royal Highness Prince Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein of Jordan warned that continued fighting in Yemen could cause the country to fragment irreversibly, creating a haven that terrorists could use to destabilize the Middle East.
The prince, who serves as the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, issued his warning in December 2015 at a meeting of the U.N. Security Council.
“I urgently call on the council to expedite and intensify diplomatic efforts to bring about a cease-fire and help create a framework for negotiating a comprehensive and sustainable peace,” Prince Zeid said.
“Failure to act decisively does not only spell misery for the millions of vulnerable people in Yemen today. It would inevitably push the country into an irreversible process of Balkanization, the consequences of which would lie outside of anyone’s control.”
Since the start of the recent conflict, more than 7 million Yemenis have become dependent on emergency food aid, 1.8 million children have dropped out of school, and thousands have been killed.
“U.N. agencies and partners
will continue to scale up our assistance to save lives. However, only a political settlement can end the immense suffering facing more than 20 million men, women and children in Yemen today,” U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Kyung-wha Kang said.