The Portuguese also called on the Huthis to immediately and unconditionally release all UN personnel
The Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), António Guterres, welcomed the agreement reached between the internationally recognized Government of Yemen and the Huthi rebels for the exchange of almost 1,700 prisoners.
The Portuguese also called on the Huthis to immediately and unconditionally release all UN personnel, non-governmental organizations, civil society and diplomats arbitrarily detained.
In a statement released on Thursday, Guterres welcomed “the largest release agreed since the start of the conflict” and called on the parties to “move forward quickly with the agreement” and “work towards further releases”.
Hours earlier, the Government of Yemen and the Huthis signed, in Jordan, an agreement to exchange almost 1,700 prisoners, a number that the UN classified as “unprecedented”.
In a note signed by deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq, Guterres also expressed gratitude for the cooperation provided by the International Committee of the Red Cross to Jordan, Oman and Switzerland for hosting rounds of negotiations.
The Portuguese called on the government and rebels to “take advantage of the positive momentum generated by Thursday’s agreement and work constructively with the Special Envoy for Yemen towards an inclusive political process that leads to a just and lasting peace.”
Guterres reiterated that UN personnel “enjoy immunity from jurisdiction in relation to oral or written statements and all acts carried out in the exercise of their official functions, and must be allowed to perform their functions independently and without hindrance.”
The pact provides for the release of 1,100 prisoners on the rebel side and 580 on the government side, including seven Saudis and 20 Sudanese, announced the head of the Huthi prisoners’ commission, Abdelqader Murtada.
“Implementation will be carried out as soon as the International Committee of the Red Cross completes the corresponding procedures,” said Murtada, on social media.
Murtada did not provide further details or the identities of the prisoners who will be released.
The president of the government delegation negotiating the dossier of detained, kidnapped and missing people, Yahya Mohamed Kazman, said it was the “biggest exchange” of this type since the start of the war in Yemen in 2014.
Prisoner exchanges have been used as a recurring measure to promote mutual trust in the war in Yemen.
The conflict caused tens of thousands of deaths and plunged the Arab country into one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.
The Huthi rebels, mostly Shiites, control a significant part of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, and are allies of Iran.
Yemen’s geographic location, in the southwest of the Arabian peninsula with Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the east, has allowed the Huthis to threaten navigation in the Red Sea area.
