1. The government of the Republic of Korea (head of the ROK delegation: Representative for African and Middle Eastern Affairs Kwon Hee-seog) announced its plan to significantly increase its humanitarian aid to Yemen and provide 4 million US dollars this year at the High-level Pledging Event for the Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen, held at the UN headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, on April 25.

o The ROK also took note of UN Special Envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed’s efforts to achieve peace and stability in Yemen, and expressed its willingness to continue to support the international community’s efforts to end the civil war in Yemen.

2. The High-level Pledging Event was co-hosted by Switzerland, Sweden, and the UN to secure the pledges of support from the international community to Yemen, which, along with Syria and Iraq, has been designated by the UN as one of the countries facing the worst humanitarian crises, and is seeing the continuing deterioration of the crisis due to the civil war.

o According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance in Yemen is 18.8 million, about two-thirds of the country’s population. Yemen’s food crisis is also very serious, with 65 percent of households experiencing food shortages.

o Given the situation, the UN launched an international appeal for $2.1 billion this year to respond to the humanitarian crisis in Yemen. In February 2017, the UN launched an urgent appeal for $4.4 billion to respond to the food crises in Yemen, Nigeria, South Sudan, and Somalia.

3. The Event was co-chaired by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Foreign Minister of Switzerland Didier Burkhalter, and Foreign Minister of Sweden Margot Wallstrom, and attended by representatives from 72 countries and around 60 international organizations, as well as high-level officials from NGOs. At the Event, 49 countries, including the ROK, made aid pledges, raising a total of $1.1 billion for aid to Yemen this year.

o Participating countries stressed the seriousness of the crisis in Yemen, caused by the civil war, and agreed that the conflict in Yemen must be solved through a political solution. They also urged parties concerned to resume dialogue to restore peace and stability in Yemen.

4. The ROK government, as a responsible middle-power country of the international community, will continue to actively join the international community’s efforts to provide support to the people of countries suffering conflicts and humanitarian crises.


* unofficial translation