The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Press Conferences | UNOG , UNITED NATIONS
OSE Yemen - ICRC press conference & Interview of OSE Yemen Martin Griffiths on Prisoners’ Exchange Agreement - 27 September 2020
Closing plenary of the fourth meeting of the Supervisory Committee on the Implementation of the Prisoners’ Exchange Agreement for Yemen which concluded today in Glion, near Montreux, in Switzerland where the largest prisoner release (1,081 conflict-related detainees and prisoners) in the history of the conflict was announced.
The continuity includes closing remarks from the week-long meeting, that started on 18 September 2020, by:
- Martin Griffiths, United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen
- Fabrizio Carboni, Regional Director for the Near and Middle East, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
Glion, Switzerland - 27 September 2020 - Delegates representing the Government of Yemen and Ansar Allah have agreed to immediately release a first group of 1,081 conflict-related detainees and prisoners, in accordance with the lists of agreed-upon names. This came today, in Switzerland, at the conclusion of the week-long fourth meeting of the Supervisory Committee on the Implementation of the Prisoners’ Exchange Agreement . It builds upon the release plan that the parties had reached in Amman last February.
The parties renewed their commitment, as per their agreement in Stockholm in 2018, to release all prisoners, detainees, missing persons, arbitrarily detained and forcibly disappeared persons, and those under house arrest. They also agreed to convene a subsequent meeting of the Supervisory Committee with the aim of implementing the remainder of the outcomes of the Amman meeting held in February. The Parties further committed to making all efforts to add new numbers for the purpose of releasing all prisoners and detainees including the four mentioned and covered by the UN Security Council’s resolutions in accordance with the Stockholm Agreement and through working with the Supervisory Committee.
“Today is an important day for over a thousand families who can expect to welcome back their loved ones hopefully very soon,” said the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, “I thank the parties for going beyond their differences and reaching an arrangement that will benefit Yemenis.”
“I urge the parties to move forward immediately with the release and to spare no effort in building upon this momentum to swiftly agree to releasing more detainees. In doing so, they will fulfil their commitments made in Stockholm and put an end to the misery of many more Yemeni families who are waiting for their loved ones”, Mr. Griffiths added.
The Special Envoy further expressed his gratitude to the Government of Switzerland for hosting the meeting in a safe and secure environment.
“The agreement signed today is a positive step for hundreds of detainees and their families back home who have been separated for years and will be reunited soon. However, it marks only the beginning of the process. We call on all parties to continue with the same urgency towards agreeing on a concrete implementation plan, so this operation can move from signatures on paper to reality on the ground’’, said Fabrizio Carboni, the ICRC regional director for near and middle east.
The Supervisory Committee on the Implementation of the Prisoners’ Exchange Agreement brings together delegations from the parties to the conflict, as well as representatives from the Arab Coalition.
The committee is co-chaired by the Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen (OSESGY) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
More information: https://osesgy.unmissions.org/joint-press-statement-un-office-special-envoy-yemen-and-international-committee-red-cross-fourth
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNEP
Major outcomes of the sixth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention
1
1
1
Press Conferences | OHCHR , UNHCR , UNICEF , WFP , WHO
Alessandra Vellucci, Director, United Nations Information Service Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives of the World Food Programme, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Children’s Fund, and the World Health Organization.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | WMO , UNOG
2025 set to be second or third warmest year on record, continuing exceptionally high warming trend
The alarming streak of exceptional temperatures continued in 2025, which is set to be either the second or third warmest year on record, according to the State of the Global Climate Update from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNECE
UNECE report: Forests of North America, Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia
1
1
1
Press Conferences | WMO , ITU , WFP , WHO , UNHCR , IFRC
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives from the International Telecommunication Union, the World Food Programme, the World Health Organization, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and the United Nations Children's Fund.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | IFRC , OHCHR , UNDP , WFP , WHO
Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section at the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the representatives and spokespersons of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the World Health Organization, the World Food Programme, the United Nations Development Programme, and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | OCHA
The humanitarian situation In Ukraine: winter response, the energy crisis and next steps
1
1
1
Press Conferences | IFRC , OCHA , OHCHR , UNCTAD , UNHCR , UNOG , WHO , WMO
Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section at the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the representatives and spokespersons of the World Meteorological Organization, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Refugee Agency, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Health Organization, and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNEP
UNEP Press conference: Minamata Convention on Mercury COP6
1
1
1
Press Conferences | WHO , WMO
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives of the World Health Organization and the World Meteorological Organization.
1
5
1
1
Press Conferences | UNCTAD
Press conference on the launch of the Sevilla Forum on Debt, on the margins of the sixteenth United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD16).