Representatives of Iran-backed Houthi
rebels and Yemen's government kicked off a new round of closed-door
negotiations on an exchange of prisoners in Geneva on Saturday, with UN special
envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg calling on both sides to engage in "serious
and forthcoming discussions to agree on releasing as many detainees as
possible."
The negotiations, reportedly set to last 11
days this time, come amid Yemen's nearly decade-long conflict and are being
overseen by the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The talks mark the seventh meeting aimed at
implementing an agreement on prisoner exchanges reached in the Swedish capital
of Stockholm five years ago, the UN said.
Under that deal, the parties involved
agreed "to release all prisoners, detainees, missing persons, arbitrarily
detained and forcibly disappeared persons, and those under house arrest,"
held in connection with the brutal war, without any conditions.
In 2020, more than 1,050 detainees were
released and provided with transportation to their respective destinations, the
ICRC said in a statement in relation to the past meetings resulting in the
release of prisoners on both sides.
The latest round of talks comes months
after the Houthi rebels said they had agreed to an exchange of prisoners that
would see 1,400 rebels freed in exchange for more than 800 pro-government
fighters, including 3 Sudanese and 16 Saudi nationals.
But the two parties have since held
discussions in Jordan that did not yield any developments.
Grundberg has highlighted the importance of
reaching an agreement as soon as possible. "With Ramadan
approaching", he urged the warring parties to fulfill the commitments they
made and help thousands of Yemeni families reunite with their loved ones.
The Iran-backed Houthis grabbed control of
the Yemeni capital of Sanaa in 2014, triggering an intervention by a Saudi-led
coalition on behalf of the Yemeni government in 2015. Since then, a brutal
conflict has pushed the impoverished country to the brink of famine while
killing scores of people.
Nevertheless, since an UN-brokered truce
took effect last April, fighting has largely been on hold, even after the
ceasefire expired in October.