UN Calls On Houthis To Grant Immediate Access To Staff Detained In Yemen - Official

The United Nations called on Houthi officials to immediately provide access to UN personnel detained in Yemen and share information regarding their arrests, Acting Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator Ramesh Rajasingham said on Tuesday

UNITED NATIONS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th December, 2021) The United Nations called on Houthi officials to immediately provide access to UN personnel detained in Yemen and share information regarding their arrests, Acting Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator Ramesh Rajasingham said on Tuesday.

In November, two UN employees from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization were arrested by Houthis in Sanaa. Later in the month, a UN contractor was detained by the rebels in the city of Marib.

"This arrest, like the ones in Sanaa, appear to be in violation of the privileges and immunities of the United Nations," Rjasingham told the UN Security Council. "We call for immediate access to the staff and for official information to be shared regarding the arrests."

Rajasigham emphasized that despite the assurances given last month by the Houthi leadership to quickly release the affected personnel, the United Nations to date has no access to the detainees and has received no information regarding the reasons for the arrests.