Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy, head of the Vietnamese Mission to the United Nations has called on the international community to join hands in preventing famine and to continue helping Yemen in 2021.

A malnourished child treated at a hospital in Sanaa, Yemen (Photo: Xinhua/VNA)

During his speech at an online meeting of the UN Security Council on December 14, Quy expressed his concern about recent escalating skirmishes in Yemen, while urging relevant parties in conflicts in the country to comply with international humanitarian law and international human rights law, and soon agree with the Joint Declaration for a nationwide ceasefire.

The Vietnamese diplomat acknowledged the approval of the Houthi rebel group in Yemen for UN experts to access the SAFER tanker offshore Yemen for repairing, and applauded the UN and its member countries for their financial and equipment support for the team to carry out their mission.

Reports presented at the meeting revealed that up to 16,500 Yemenis are living in a famine-like situation, and the figure is expected to triple by June 2021 if the situation continues.

In addition, 13.5 million Yemenis are facing a food shortage and this figure could rise to 16 million in 2021. Economic crisis, rising commodity prices, and decreasing value of local currency are also the challenges facing the country.

Meanwhile, humanitarian programmes do not have financial resources to deploy and have difficulty in reaching many parts of Yemen.

Participants urged relevant parties to fulfil their obligations to protect civilians and respect the ceasefire, as well as soon have dialogues towards an early adoption of the Joint Declaration for a nationwide ceasefire.