Home
Politics
The United Nations' Yemen envoy Jamal Benomar is to brief the Security Council on Tuesday and a draft resolution could be sent to all 15 members within days, diplomats told AFP.
With mass demonstrations in the Yemen capital calling on the UN to act, European envoys, with US backing, have been working on the outline of a resolution supporting a Gulf Cooperation Council peace plan which would see Saleh hand over power and new elections held.
Saleh, who has been in power for 33 years, has refused to sign the plan and violence has worsened since he returned from medical treatment in Saudi Arabia last month. Hundreds have been killed in demonstrations against Saleh since January.
"The main aim is to give more clout to the GCC initiative," one UN diplomat told AFP of the draft resolution.
The resolution would call on Saleh to "sign and implement the political settlement" drawn up by the six-nation GCC, added another envoy.
It would call for an immediate halt to violence by all parties and for all groups to withdraw their weapons from public areas, the envoy said.
Diplomats stressed that the resolution would not threaten sanctions or any other measures.
Russia and China vetoed a proposed resolution on Syria last week, saying it was a move to encourage "regime change" against President Bashar al-Assad.
Diplomats from several Security Council nations said however that they hoped Russia could be convinced to back this resolution.
"Syria and Yemen are completely different and Russia's interests in Yemen are different," one diplomat said.
Russia has spoken strongly in favor of the GCC initiative but has not yet commented publicly on the moves for a Security Council resolution.
European diplomats said work on the draft resolution would be stepped up after Benomar's briefing to the council.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
With mass demonstrations in the Yemen capital calling on the UN to act, European envoys, with US backing, have been working on the outline of a resolution supporting a Gulf Cooperation Council peace plan which would see Saleh hand over power and new elections held.
Saleh, who has been in power for 33 years, has refused to sign the plan and violence has worsened since he returned from medical treatment in Saudi Arabia last month. Hundreds have been killed in demonstrations against Saleh since January.
"The main aim is to give more clout to the GCC initiative," one UN diplomat told AFP of the draft resolution.
The resolution would call on Saleh to "sign and implement the political settlement" drawn up by the six-nation GCC, added another envoy.
It would call for an immediate halt to violence by all parties and for all groups to withdraw their weapons from public areas, the envoy said.
Diplomats stressed that the resolution would not threaten sanctions or any other measures.
Russia and China vetoed a proposed resolution on Syria last week, saying it was a move to encourage "regime change" against President Bashar al-Assad.
Diplomats from several Security Council nations said however that they hoped Russia could be convinced to back this resolution.
"Syria and Yemen are completely different and Russia's interests in Yemen are different," one diplomat said.
Russia has spoken strongly in favor of the GCC initiative but has not yet commented publicly on the moves for a Security Council resolution.
European diplomats said work on the draft resolution would be stepped up after Benomar's briefing to the council.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
