Iran Peace Plan for Yemen Submitted to UN

Iran's Ambassador to the United Nations Gholamali Khoshroo submitted the letter to UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson in New York on Friday.

The full text of the letter is as follows:

In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
17 April 2015

H.E. Mr. Ban Ki-moon,
Secretary-General                                                                         
United Nations
New York

Excellency,

I would like to draw your attention to the extremely alarming situation in Yemen, exacerbated by the recent provocative foreign military air campaign. It goes on in flagrant defiance of the most basic principles of international law, flouting the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, in particular the obligation to refrain from the threat or use of force in international relations.

Foreign military forces have mostly targeted purely civilian infrastructures of Yemen, destroying, inter alia, hospitals, schools, road, food factories and power plants, and thus depriving civilians of basic necessities. They have also indiscriminately targeted residential areas, including refugee camps, killing and injuring innocent civilians, in particular women and children.

This critical situation is escalating and the humanitarian crisis in Yemen is approaching catastrophic dimensions. It may result in further exacerbation of the already tense circumstances in a region that has been plagued by one of the most barbaric types of extremism and multi-pronged vicious campaign of foreign-backed terrorists. These terrorist groups have been the main beneficiaries, gaining strategic foothold in Yemen aided by the foreign aerial campaign.

Under these circumstances, it is imperative for the international community to get more effectively involved in ending the senseless aerial attacks and establishing a ceasefire, ensuring delivery of humanitarian and medical assistance to the people of Yemen and restoring peace and stability to this country through dialogue and national reconciliation without pre-conditions.

The Islamic Republic of Iran reiterates that there is no military solution to this conflict. The only way to restore peace and stability is to allow all Yemeni parties to establish, without any foreign interference, their own inclusive national unity government. To this end, the Islamic Republic of Iran believes that all efforts, particularly those by the United Nations, should be guided, in conformity with the Charter of the United Nations and fundamental principles of international humanitarian law, by the following objectives:

1.            Ceasefire and an immediate end to all foreign military attacks;
2.            Unimpeded urgent humanitarian and medical assistance to the people of Yemen;
3.            Resumption of Yemeni-lead and Yemeni-owned national dialogue, with the participation of the representatives of all political parties and social groups;
4.            Establishment of an inclusive national unity government.

I hope that Your Excellency will urgently use your good offices and conduct consultations with the concerned parties to facilitate and encourage an immediate end to these senseless bombardments and initiation of a genuine dialogue to find a political solution to this tragic crisis.  The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran stands ready to assist you in advancing this objective.

Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration.

M. Javad Zarif
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran