Benomar: Agreement on south issue solution is victory for all Yemenis

Assistant UN Secretary-General and his Special Adviser on Yemen said on Tuesday that the document of "just solution" to the South issue is a victory for the issue and all Yemenis and establishes a unified state on new federal and democratic bases. The document was signed on Monday evening, in the presence of President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi by the political components in the mini-committee of the South issue's working group at the National Dialogue Conference (NDC). It contains solutions and guarantees to the South issue. "I assure the Yemenis that the document, which is based on the Gulf initiative, its operational mechanism and the UN Security Council resolutions 2014 and 2051, reflects the highest possible degree of consensus among the political components participating in the dialogue conference," Jamal Benomar said in a press conference held today in Sana'a. He also assured the southerners that the document is obliged to resolve the South issue fairly and inclusively within a new federal state. "The document comprises a full confession of the injustices committed in the south, and the recommendation of the need to address these grievances, topped by the entire implementation of the 20 and 11 points, during the transition period to the Yemeni federal state." It also stressed the provision of funds required to fully fulfill the reparation in accordance with the principles of transitional justice and without discrimination, and it promised the South specifically not to return to the past or to abuse of power and wealth, particularly with regard to security, stability and development, Benomar said. "The document is a road map to resolve the South issue contains six key items." It gave the southerners, after the federal constitution's approval, 50 % in the high posts of the executive, legislative and judicial authorities, including army and security, which is assigned by the President or Prime Minister's decrees, in addition to 50 % representation in the parliament, he said. According to the document, the federal constitution stipulates executive, judicial and parliamentary mechanisms protect the South's vital interests. The UN envoy said the political components agreed that the President forms a committee under his chairmanship and authorized by the NDC to decide the number of the State's regions, stressing that the committee's decision will be effective. "The most important is not only to determine the number of regions, but to define the powers of the regions and responsibilities of the different governance levels." "With this agreement, we approach the end of the national dialogue," he said. Concerning the rejection of some NDC components to sign the document, Benomar said that the agreement on the document was sponsored by President Hadi, who is also the secretary general of the General People Congress (GPC), and third man in the GPC Abdul-Karim al-Iryani has contributed to drafting the document. For the Socialist Party, he said that the disagreement was only on the mechanism to address the options of the regions, and not on the content or the principles of the document. Answering a question on the duration of the transition process and the tenure of the President, Benomar said that the UN Security Council on his recent statement stressed that the end of the political transition, should be based on the completion of the steps to be implemented under the Gulf initiative. "It is not a matter of time, it ends when tasks are accomplished."