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Thank you, Mr. President. I have the honour to report to the Security Council pursuant to paragraph 19(e) of resolution 2140 (2014) on the work of the Committee since its establishment on 26 February to date. With the agreement of Council members, the report comes later than the 60-day time frame stipulated in resolution 2140, to allow the Committee to inform the Council on the more recent and substantive activities undertaken by the Committee. 

2. Council members will recall that, by its resolution 2140, expressing support for a peaceful, inclusive, orderly and Yemeni-led political transition process that meets the legitimate demands and aspirations of the Yemeni people for peaceful change and meaningful political, economic and social reform, as set out in the Gulf Cooperation Council Initiative and Implementation Mechanism and the outcomes of the comprehensive National Dialogue Conference, the Security Council, inter alia, imposed measures on individuals or entities designated by the Committee as engaging in or providing support for acts that threaten the peace, security or stability of Yemen. These measures consist of a freeze on assets owned or controlled by individuals or entities designated by the Committee, or by individuals or entities acting on their behalf or at their direction, or by entities owned or controlled by them, and a travel ban on individuals designated by the Committee. 

3. On 25 March, I was elected as the Chair of the Committee, with the delegation of Jordan serving as Vice-Chair.  I would like to thank Council members for the trust and confidence placed in my stewardship of this very important subsidiary body of the Security Council. As I also said at the first meeting of the Committee, it is my intention to cooperate very closely, on an ongoing basis, with each and every one of its members. 

4. Mr. President, the first order of business for any new committee is the adoption of guidelines for the conduct of its work. These guidelines were adopted on 4 April, following which they were announced to all Member States through a note verbale and a press release.  On the same day, the Committee received a letter from the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs proposing the names of four individuals to serve on the Panel of Experts established by resolution 2140. As Council members will recall, the Panel is tasked with, inter alia, assisting the Committee in carrying out its mandate, including through providing at any time information relevant to the potential designation of individuals and entities as subject to the travel ban and/or assets freeze. The Panel is also tasked with gathering, examining and analyzing information from States, relevant United Nations bodies, regional organization and other interested parties regarding the implementation of the measures decided in resolution 2140, in particular incidents of undermining the political transition in Yemen.

5. The Committee had no objection to the slate proposed by the Under-Secretary-General, and the experts were appointed to the Panel by the Secretary-General on 16 April.  Since that time, however, one expert has withdrawn from the Panel, citing pre-existing academic and professional commitments which would not allow him to participate fully in the envisaged operational work plan of the Panel. The Secretariat is working towards identifying a replacement expeditiously, while the other three Panel members have begun their work.

6. In a letter dated 4 April addressed to this and other committees, the Chair of the Security Council Committee pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999) and 1989 (2011) concerning Al-Qaida and Associated Individuals and Entities proposed that a recommendation of its Monitoring Team, pertaining to biometric data on listed individuals, be implemented as standard practice for all committees that have concluded an agreement with INTERPOL for the dissemination of UN Security Council - INTERPOL Special Notices. In my reply, I informed the Chair of the 1267/1989 Committee of the Committee's intention, in the coming days, to consider the adoption of the procedures on the issuing of Special Notices and to revert thereafter. 

7. Mr. President, the first Committee meeting was held on 30 April, specifically to initiate a dialogue between the Committee, Yemen and member countries of the GCC and discuss implementation of the measures imposed by resolution 2140. A representative of the GCC organization also participated. The convening of this meeting, in accordance with paragraph 19(f) of the resolution, is a demonstration of the high importance given by the Committee to interacting and consulting with Yemen and its regional partners. During the meeting, the Permanent Representative of Yemen thanked member countries of the GCC for their support to the transition and underlined the importance of taking into account economic and humanitarian factors when addressing his country’s challenges.  All participants who took the floor agreed that the dialogue was useful and should continue. It is my intention to maintain an inclusive and participatory approach in steering this Committee forward. 

8. On 5 May, the Committee met in informal consultations with the three members of the Panel of Experts.  The experts shared their initial thoughts on how they intended to proceed with the fulfilment of their mandate and the challenges they foresaw. Committee members welcomed the start of the Panel's work and looked forward to receiving its continuous, impartial and independent analysis of the situation on the ground. I was pleased to learn that, while in New York, the Panel would be meeting with a wide range of actors and stakeholders, including the representatives of Yemen and the member countries of the GCC. Committee members also looked forward to the Panel travelling to Yemen in the near future and noted that such travel will be critical to gather first-hand information. 

9. Mr. President, an update by the Panel is due to the Security Council no later than 25 June. This update will, in accordance with resolution 2140, be discussed in the Committee before it is submitted to the Council. Moreover, the Panel may at any time present relevant information to the Committee.  In accordance with paragraph 19(f) of resolution 2140, and as deemed necessary, I will thereafter report to the Council on this and other Committee discussions and activities.