Al-Kathiri Discusses with Head of UNHCR Office Potential Solutions to Displacement and Refugees

Mr. Ali Abdullah Al-Kathiri, Acting President of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) and Chairman of the National Assembly, met today, Moday, with Mr. Mohammed Rafik Nasri, Head of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in the capital, Aden.

At the beginning of the meeting, Mr. Al-Kathiri welcomed Mr. Nasri and listened to a comprehensive briefing on the UNHCR's humanitarian and relief interventions in the capital, Aden, and the South, as well as the liberated governorates. Nasri outlined the strategic approach the UNHCR is taking with the government to maximize engagement with donors, fulfill pledges, and meet humanitarian needs. He also detailed the mechanisms in place for working with local authorities, partner organizations, and institutions to reach various categories of displaced persons and refugees.

Nasri expressed his gratitude for the role played by the STC, led by President Aidrous Qassem Al-Zubaidi, and the local authority in the capital, Aden, headed by State Minister and Governor Ahmed Hamed Lamlas, as well as the seamless facilitation to successfully implement its projects and interventions on the ground.

Al-Kathiri has reaffirmed the commitment of the STC to providing unwavering support for the UNHCR's humanitarian and relief interventions, highlighting the critical need for a balanced approach to addressing the needs of displaced persons, refugees, and the host community, and urging the UNHCR to expedite the completion of projects they initiated in the aftermath of the Houthi militia's brutal war against the capital, Aden, and the South.

The Acting President of the STC underscored the urgent need to find immediate solutions to the influx of refugees and displaced persons and to activate voluntary return to safe areas under the ceasefire while providing adequate support for them. He also stressed the importance of the UNHCR's actively addressing attempts to settle displaced persons and the rejection of any demographic changes on the land of the South.

The meeting was attended by Brigadier General Ahmed Hassan, Head of the Security Department of the STC, Mr. Mohammed Abdul-Karim Jubari, Advisor to the Governor of the capital, Aden, for Humanitarian Affairs, Dr. Jakleen Al-Batani, Head of the Social Affairs and Civil Society Organizations Committee in the National Assembly, and Mr. Muammar Alwan, Field Officer of the UNHCR.