CEO of the Red Sea Ports Corporation meets the director of the International Committee of the Red Cross delegation in Hodeida

 

CEO of the Yemeni Red Sea Ports Corporation, Captain Mohammed Abu Bakr bin Ishaq, discussed Wednesday 4/2/1444 AH with the director of the International Committee of the Red Cross delegation in Hodeida, Alexander Ikoy, the possibility of the committee supporting a number of development activities and projects related to the rehabilitation of the infrastructure of the corporation’s ports.

The meeting, which was held at the Corporation’s headquarters in the port of Hodeida, touched on areas of cooperation between the Corporation and the Mission and ways to enhance and develop them.

The meeting, in the presence of the Foundation’s Executive Vice President, Zaid Ahmed Al-Washli, reviewed the tasks of the committee in the humanitarian field and the priorities of its interventions, as required by the current situation.

In the meeting, Captain Ishaq confirmed that the Corporation’s ports are still suffering from the consequences of the aggression and the siege for more than seven years, and the brutal and direct targeting of the port of Hodeida on the eighteenth of August 2015.

He added that all the meetings held by the Foundation with representatives of the United Nations organizations focused on the humanitarian aspect and what Yemen in general and the Foundation’s ports in particular suffer from arbitrary measures by the forces of aggression.

He pointed out that the International Committee of the Red Cross is the mainstay of the Geneva Convention and its protocols and the process of its implementation on the ground, which clearly defined the status of ports and prevented their targeting even in periods of war and armed conflict, and ensured the access of food and medicine to the civilian population.

He pointed out that the institution is based in its dealings on the grounds that it is a service institution that works to facilitate and smooth the shipments arriving at its ports and its exposure to the applied siege hinders the provision of its services in the required manner.

He explained that the forces of aggression have prevented container ships from entering the port of Hodeida since November of the year 2017, except for the container ship of the World Food Program ” EF ELENA ” that allows its entry, which transports relief materials to the Yemeni people, which confirms that the port of Hodeida is capable of receiving container ships.

He condemned the silence of the United Nations organizations on these violations of international laws and stressed that unless the committee takes positions towards the clear violations, as it is among the core of its tasks, how can it be relied upon and on other humanitarian and human rights organizations by pressing to stop the aggression and lift the siege.

He stressed the importance of strengthening cooperation and coordination between the Foundation and the International Committee of the Red Cross, stressing the Foundation’s keenness to facilitate the work of the Committee and to overcome the difficulties it may encounter in carrying out the tasks entrusted to it to the fullest.

CEO of the Corporation expressed the hope that the Corporation will receive the required support and funding at the Donors Conference for Yemen to be held on September 20, 2022 AD, which the Humanitarian Affairs Coordinator promised in his recent meeting with the leadership of the Ministry of Transport that the Corporation’s ports would be one of the main pillars in obtaining support.

For his part, the director of the ICRC delegation in the governorate affirmed that the committee will spare no effort in alleviating the suffering of the Yemeni people as a result of the severe humanitarian situation and crisis.

He referred to the nature of the committee’s work..noting that the committee implemented many humanitarian interventions  , and Ikoyi expressed his appreciation for the facilities provided by the institution to the mission, stressing its continuation in providing aspects of support and assistance in all humanitarian fields.

The meeting was attended by the general directors of the CEO’s office, Nabil Omar Al-Mazjajy, the docks and yards Khaled Hamid, the marine operations captain Mohammed Al-Says, the container terminal, Captain Shawky Murshid, the director of the Coast Guard sector in the Red Sea, Colonel Salman Al-Jama’i, and the two deputy directors of the Standards Authority Abdullah Omar and the expedition, Mohammed Qasim.