The Secretary-General has established the Office of the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Yemen (OSASGY) in accordance with an exchange of letters with the President of the Security Council in June 2012 (S/2012/469 and S/2012/470). The Office functions include:
- Provision of good offices to continue supporting the political transition in Yemen in accordance with the Transition Agreement and Security Council resolutions 2014 (2011) and 2051 (2012), and engagement with all sides in Yemen, including the Government of National Unity, political parties, civil society organizations, women, youth and other actors in support of an inclusive Yemeni-led transition;
- Leading United Nations support to the National Dialogue Conference and coordinating international assistance to the Conference;
- Leading United Nations efforts providing support for other transition steps, including the constitutional review, constitutional referendum and general elections;
- Working closely with the members of the Security Council, the Gulf Cooperation Council and other international partners;
- Supporting the Secretary-General’s ongoing reporting obligations to the Security Council in the context of resolutions 2014 (2011) and 2051 (2012).
The Security Council has been closely monitoring the situation since the start of the uprising in 2011, speaking with one voice in support of the transition. Since then, the Council has unanimously adopted three resolutions:
- Resolution 2014 (2011) calling for implementation of a political settlement based upon the GCC Initiative and requesting the Secretary-General to continue his good offices;
- Resolution 2051 (2012) reaffirming the need for the full and timely implementation of the Transition Agreement and signalling potential sanctions; and
- Resolution 2140 (2014) supporting the implementation of the National Dialogue outcomes, reaffirming the need for the full and timely implementation of the political transition, and establishing a sanctions regime under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter.
Following a visit by the Secretary-General in November 2012, Security Council members visited Sana’a in January 2013.