UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday named Swedish diplomat Hans Grundberg as his new Yemen envoy after a delay of several weeks as China considered whether to approve the appointment, which needed consensus Security Council agreement.
The 15-member council approved Grundberg this week as a replacement for Martin Griffiths, who became the UN aid chief last month after trying to mediate an end to the conflict in Yemen for the past three years.
The war has killed tens of thousands of people and caused a dire humanitarian crisis, pushing Yemen to the brink of famine.
Grundberg has been the European Union ambassador to Yemen since September 2019. UN officials informally floated his name to council members to solicit views by mid-July and 14 members said they would agree to the appointment, diplomats said.
But China said it needed more time. An official with China’s UN mission in New York declined to comment on why Beijing’s approval had been delayed.

The United States welcomed the appointment of Grundberg as the new UN Special Envoy for Yemen.

“Grundberg brings considerable expertise on Yemen and the region, and we look forward to working closely with him to advance a durable resolution to the conflict in Yemen,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

“Now is the time for peace. Seven years of war and instability have devastated Yemen’s economy and eroded even the most basic services, leading to one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world,” Blinken said.

Speaking about the Houthi offensive on Marib, the secretary of state said there is unprecedented international and regional consensus on the need to end the military campaign and other fighting.

He placed renewed emphasis on political talks to bring relief to the Yemeni people and allow them to determine a brighter future for their country.