Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-06-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress his Department has made on returning to political negotiations to end the conflict in Yemen; and what assessment he has made of the effect of the UK’s support for the Saudi-led coalition on achieving this aim.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The UK supports the Saudi Arabian-led Coalition military intervention in Yemen, which came at the request of legitimate President Hadi to deter aggression by the Houthis and forces loyal to the former president Saleh. Saudi Arabia and the Coalition have played a crucial role in this endeavour. Peace talks are now the top priority. During the Foreign Secretary’s visit to the Gulf in late May and early June, all countries reassured of their commitment to finding a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Yemen. The UK is working closely with the UN to encourage the Yemeni parties to engage in good faith in the peace talks in Kuwait and respect the ceasefire which started on 10 April. Through the cross-government Conflict, Stability and Security Fund, we are providing £1.05 million (over 2 financial years) to the UN Special Envoy’s office to bolster UN capacity to facilitate the peace process, and are also supporting work to broaden the dialogue to include women and other under-represented groups.