The Friends of Yemen met at Ministerial level in New York on 24 September 2014 in the margins of the 69th session of the United Nations General Assembly, co-chaired by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Yemen.
The Friends of Yemen expressed their continued and firm support for President Hadi as the head of Yemen's transition, as well as the unity, sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Yemen and the principle of non-interference in Yemen's internal affairs. They underlined the critical importance of continuing to pursue political transition in accordance with the Gulf Cooperation Council Initiative and Implementation Mechanism, NDC outcomes and UN Security Council Resolutions.
The Friends agreed on a shared vision for a peaceful and stable Yemen, with a legitimate and capable government able to carry out critical political, economic and security reforms, and tackle humanitarian challenges. They also made clear how the international community would support this vision, and emphasised that any actions threatening the security and stability of Yemen had to cease. The Friends noted the need for substantial restructuring of Yemen's security forces and drew attention to the recommendations of the Friends of Yemen Steering Committee.
Members of group condemned in the strongest terms the recent fighting in Sana'a by the Houthis and militia groups. They also condemned the use of force to achieve political objectives. They urged all groups to uphold a permanent ceasefire, for the legitimate government authorities to have sole and full control over security and public institutions in Sana'a and called for full implementation of all elements of the Peace and National Partnership Agreement based on National Dialogue Conference (NDC) outcomes.
The Friends of Yemen reiterated the importance of supporting the Government of Yemen's development and reform plans in the political, economic, security and humanitarian sectors. They welcomed the progress made by Yemen on the economic reform agenda and urged the government to keep up the momentum on wider reforms. They emphasised the importance of assisting the Government of Yemen to mitigate the impacts of that reform and improve the lives of Yemenis they also underscored the importance of the fulfilment of commitments made by donors to support Yemen.
The Friends welcomed the UN Security Council statement of 23 September and welcomed the willingness of the members of the Sanctions Committee to act under UNSCR 2140 against those who sought to destabilise Yemen.
The Friends strongly condemned the deadly terrorist attacks in Yemen by Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, and expressed their determination to support Yemen's efforts to combat terrorism.
The Friends also pledged to continue to deliver the group's long term objectives to help build long term stability – through security, economic and political reforms and helping to address Yemen's humanitarian and development needs.
