Yemen (S/PV.7175)

The Security Council convened on 14 May 2014 (S/PV.7175) to discuss the actions of the Committee, established pursuant to Security Council

resolution 2140 (S/RES/2140 2014), regarding the current situation in Yemen. Ambassador Raimonda Murmokaitė, Permanent Representative

of Lithuania and Chair of the Committee, debriefed the Council on the compilation and implementation of a Panel of Experts and the

Committee’s consideration of the implementation of the practices of the Committee pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999) and 1989 (2011). In

addition to this, the Ambassador informed the Council of the Committee’s first meeting to initiate a dialogue amongst the Committee,

Yemen, and member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). During this meeting, Yemen’s Permanent Representative requested

that all parties begin to place importance on taking economic and humanitarian concerns into account when addressing the challenges faced

by his nation. The Ambassador also notified the Council that the Committee had met with three members of the Panel of Experts to gather

their initial thoughts on their strategy to assist the Committee with fulfilling its mandate, especially in regards to Yemen’s political

transition. The Panel of Experts will provide the Council an update on its recommendations and activities no later than 25 June 2014.

Given that the main objective was to discuss the initial strategy of the Committee pursuant to 2140 (S/RES/2140 2014), it may seem

reasonable that Ambassador Murmokaitė did not reference any women, peace and security concerns. However, the Ambassador should have

discussed why a gender-expert was not included in the Panel of Experts created by the Committee. The exclusion of a gender-expert was

indicative of the degree to which the Committee and the Ambassador held the women, peace and security agenda.

The Permanent Representative of Lithuania Murmokaitė missed the opportunity to include a gender-expert on the Panel of Experts. By not

recruiting or failing to mention the recruitment of a gender-expert, the Ambassador inferred that women’s concerns were not integral in the

overall political, security, and financial challenges in Yemen.

In this meeting, the Council was debriefed on the overall goals and mechanics of the Committee’s initial strategy regarding the situation in

Yemen. The MAP recommendations from May 2013 urged the Council to request information on efforts that included women’s rights within

the new constitution and that conducted legal reforms that removed discriminatory provisions against women[1]. This debrief did not address

any promotion of women’s rights. By failing to address even the inclusion of a gender expert on the Panel of Experts, there was no apparent

dialogue towards the inclusion of women, peace and security concerns.

In February 2014, the Council convened to vote on and adopt resolution 2140 (S/RES/2140 2 February 2014). The meeting consisted of

Member States showing their support and commendation of the adoption of this resolution. Meeting S/PV.7175 in contrast focused on the

strategy implemented by the Committee established pursuant to Security Council resolution 2140 (S/RES/2140 2014). Similar to the previous

meeting on the Yemen situation, the Council did not reference any women, peace and security concern.