Activites

• 2017/11/30 Results of vote in Parliament
  • Results of vote in Parliament
  • T8-0473/2017 summary

    The European Parliament adopted by 539 votes to 13, with 81 abstentions a resolution on the situation in Yemen. The resolution was tabled by the ECR, ALDE, EFDD, S&D, GUE/NGL, Greens/EFA and EPP groups. Parliament noted that the various rounds of UN-brokered negotiations have not yet led to a meaningful progress towards a political solution in Yemen and that the humanitarian situation continues to be catastrophic with 20.7 million requiring food assistance. It stressed that only a political, inclusive and negotiated solution to the conflict can restore peace and preserve the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Yemen. Members called on all international and regional actors to engage constructively with Yemeni parties to enable a de-escalation of the conflict and a negotiated settlement. They urged Saudi Arabia and Iran to work to end the fighting in Yemen and on Iran to immediately cease providing support to Houthi forces in Yemen, either directly or through proxies. Parliament noted that EU Member States have continued to authorise transfers of arms to Saudi Arabia since the escalation of the conflict, in a violation of Council Common Position 2008/944/CFSP of 8 December 2008 on arms export control. It reiterated the call it made in Parliament’s resolution of 25 February 2016 which urged the VP/HR to launch an initiative to impose an EU arms embargo on Saudi Arabia, given the serious allegations of breaches of international humanitarian law by Saudi Arabia in Yemen and the fact that the continued licensing of weapons sales to Saudi Arabia would therefore be in breach of Common Position 2008/944/CFSP. Members condemned the indiscriminate coalition-led airstrikes leading to civilian casualties, including children, and destruction of civilian and medical infrastructure, and also condemned the similarly indiscriminate attacks by Houthi and allied forces that have resulted in the deaths of civilians and the use of hospitals and schools by these groups as bases from which to stage attacks. According to the UN, more than 8 000 people, 60 % of whom civilians, have been killed and more than 50 000 injured, including a high number of children, in airstrikes and fighting on the ground since the Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen’s civil war in March 2015. The VP/HR was asked to urgently propose an integrated EU strategy for Yemen and to make a renewed push for a Yemeni peace initiative under the auspices of the UN. Members emphasised that the implementation of confidence-building measures, such as the release of political prisoners, immediate steps towards a sustainable ceasefire, a mechanism for a UN-monitored withdrawal of forces, facilitation of humanitarian and commercial access, Track II initiatives involving political, security and civil society actors, is essential to facilitating a return to the right political track. All parties involved must allow immediate and full humanitarian access to the conflict-affected areas. The Council and the UNSC, in implementing UNSC Resolution 2216, should identify individuals obstructing the delivery of humanitarian assistance in Yemen and impose targeted sanctions on them. Members welcomed the commitments made at the High-Level Pledging Event for the Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen and called for the immediate mobilisation of the funds pledged to Yemen and for full funding of the UN 2017 Humanitarian Response Plan for Yemen. They recalled that pledges amounting to USD 1.1 billion – as of 21 November 2017, donors had delivered funds amounting to only 56.9 % of the UN’s USD 2.3 billion humanitarian appeal for Yemen for 2017. Since the start of the conflict, the European Union has allocated EUR 171.7 million in humanitarian aid, giving priority to health, nutrition, food security, protection, shelter, and water and sanitation. Members welcomed the fact that the EU and its Member States are ready to step up humanitarian assistance to the population across the country in order to respond to rising needs and to mobilise their development assistance to fund projects in crucial sectors. Lastly, Parliament expressed grave concern that the instability in Yemen has been exploited by terrorist and extremist organisations such as ISIS/Daesh and AQAP. All parties to the conflict were urged to take resolute action against such groups, whose activities represent a grave threat to a negotiated settlement and the security of the region and beyond.

• 2017/11/29 Debate in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament

Documents

• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Results of vote in Parliament: Results of vote in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T8-0473/2017

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)