The latest round of talks with the Supervisory Committee on the Implementation of the Detainees' Exchange Agreement secured the release of 887 detainees from the conflict tin Yemen.
According to the UN Mission to Support the Hudaydah Agreement website, three areas of action toward securing peace, according to the Stockholm Agreement signed in 2018, include ceasefires, prisoner exchanges and civil society participating. The talks, according to the website, focused on prisoner detection, resulting in the release of the detainees.
“The United States welcomes the major agreement, facilitated by the UN and International Committee of the Red Cross to release 887 detainees from the Yemen conflict,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a March 20 State Department release. “This agreement is an important step forward, building on the momentum of the UN-mediated truce and a period of de-escalation that has lasted almost one year. The United States remains unwavering in its commitment to advancing a durable resolution to the conflict."
According to a United Nations news release, each side involved in the conflict in Yemen took part in a 10-day meeting in Switzerland to hammer out the details of a plan for the release of detainees from all sides. It was the seventh time the Supervisory Committee met after being formed under the Stockholm Agreement to ensure each side meets its requirements to release conflict-related detainees.
The parties also agreed to meet again in May for additional talks and to visit detention facilities, the release reported.
The special envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen is welcoming the meetings outcomes and lauded the efforts to reach the final outcome, according to the release. Moreover, the International Committee of the Red Cross has played a key role in securing the release, transfer and repatriation of detainees.
“For hundreds of Yemeni families, today is a good day,” Special Envoy Hans Grundberg said in the UN release. “Today, hundreds of Yemeni families can look forward to reuniting with their loved ones.”
