Yemen
Expected Council Action
In October, the Security Council is expected to hold its monthly briefing and consultations on Yemen.
The mandate of the UN Mission to Support the Hodeidah Agreement (UNMHA) expires on 14 July 2025. The 2140 Yemen sanctions regime, which comprises assets freeze and travel ban measures, expires on 15 November, while the mandate of the Yemen Panel of Experts expires on 15 December. (The targeted arms embargo established through resolution 2216 of 14 April 2015 is open-ended.)
Key Recent Developments
The political process in Yemen remains frozen amid regional fallout from the Israel-Hamas war. At the Council’s latest briefing on Yemen, held on 12 September, UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg emphasised that the regional escalation continues to complicate his efforts to promote a sustainable resolution of the conflict in the country.
In recent months, the Houthi rebel group has continued carrying out attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea. The Houthis have threatened to continue these assaults until Israel ends its military campaign in Gaza, that followed the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attacks against Israel. A 21 August Houthi-claimed attack in the Red Sea set ablaze the Greek-flagged crude oil tanker MV Sounion, which was carrying 150,000 tonnes of crude oil, raising concerns about a potential environmental catastrophe. On 16 September, the EU naval mission EUNAVFOR ASPIDES announced that the MV Sounion has been towed to safety without any oil spill.
In a recent sign of the escalation of direct conflict between the Houthis and Israel, the rebel group claimed responsibility for a missile attack targeting central Israel on 15 September. The strike, which did not result in any reported casualties, marked the second time that a Houthi airborne assault reached central Israel, after a 19 July drone attack by the group on the city of Tel Aviv killed one civilian. A Houthi spokesperson claimed that the group used a “new hypersonic ballistic missile” and threatened more “strikes and specific operations” against Israel as the anniversary of the 7 October 2023 attacks approaches. Israeli officials told media outlets that the projectile was not a hypersonic missile and American officials reportedly said that the weapon did not represent a new military capability for the Houthis.
Following the attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Israel “exact[s] a heavy price” for any attempt to harm it, while referencing the 20 July retaliatory strikes carried out by Israel in and around the Hodeidah Port in Yemen after the 19 July drone attack. In a 19 September letter to the Security Council, Israel denounced the 15 September attack, called on the Council to condemn the Houthis’ destabilising activities, and accused Iran of providing the Houthis with weapons in contravention of the arms embargo imposed on the group.
On 27 and 28 September, the Houthis launched two separate ballistic missile attacks against Israel, which were intercepted by Israel’s air defence systems. These attacks took place against the backdrop of an escalation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, which included the 27 September assassination of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli airstrike. The Houthis threatened that “[t]hese operations will not stop until the aggression on Gaza and Lebanon stops”. On 29 September, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced that they had carried out retaliatory attacks against Houthi targets in Hodeidah and Ras Isa, including power stations and a seaport. The strikes killed at least four people and injured 29 others, according to the Houthis.
Meanwhile, Yemen continues to suffer from overlapping humanitarian crises, including the effects of severe flooding that occurred in August and September, the spread of cholera, and growing food insecurity. A 10 September report prepared by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Yemeni non-governmental organisation (NGO) Building Foundation for Development argued that the heavy rainfalls that triggered widespread flooding in Yemen are not a “seasonal anomaly”, but rather “a clear indicator of a rapidly worsening climate crisis”. It urged international donors to increase funding and capacity-building assistance for climate resilience efforts in the country.
Relief efforts in the country continue to face multiple challenges, including shrinking space for humanitarian action and funding shortfalls. The Houthis continue to detain 13 Yemeni national staff employed by several UN agencies and offices and more than 50 NGO and civil society staff arrested by the rebel group in early June. In an 18 September statement marking 100 days since the arrests, regional directors from six UN agencies and three NGOs called for the immediate and unconditional release of all detained personnel. The statement emphasised that “[a]ttacks on humanitarian workers, including detentions and false accusations, violate international law, endanger safety, and severely hinder the support” that they provide to the Yemeni people.
At the 12 September Council meeting, Acting Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Joyce Msuya noted that humanitarian partners reported 572 access incidents across Yemen in the first seven months of 2024. She said that the Houthis’ new cabinet, which was formed in August, has provided assurances that it would work with the UN and humanitarian partners to address access constraints. Msuya also reported that the UN has undertaken a programme prioritisation exercise with the aim of minimising the exposure of staff to risk in Houthi-controlled areas. As a result, the UN decided to provide a narrower response focused on essential life-saving and life-sustaining activities, deprioritising broader activities such as capacity-building. Msuya expressed hope that the UN could resume its broader programmes once “minimum requirements are met” for the safety and security of UN personnel and other humanitarian workers.
Women, Peace and Security
At the 12 September Council meeting, Linda Al Obahi, Senior Political Affairs and Mediation Advisor representing the Peace Track Initiative (PTI) and the Women Solidarity Network, briefed on the deteriorating situation of women’s rights in Yemen. She said that the imposition of a male guardian, dress codes, and restrictions on freedom of expression, especially in Houthi-controlled areas, impede women’s ability to work, including in the humanitarian sector; to access healthcare and education, and to participate in public life. Al Obahi stated that Yemeni women human rights defenders and peacebuilders have frequently faced public defamation, online violence, and threats to their safety. Additionally, she expressed concern about the fact that, for the first time in 24 years, there are no women in government positions in Yemen, and that “women are completely absent from peace process negotiation committees, including those under UN auspices”. Al Obahi stressed the importance of guaranteeing “the meaningful participation of women, youth, minorities, people with disabilities, marginalised groups, victims and survivors of rights abuses, human rights defenders and civil society” in all negotiation processes.
Citing reports from UN experts and Yemeni women’s organisations, Al Obahi highlighted cases of arbitrary detention as well as torture, rape, forced confessions, mutilation, and forced abortion endured by women in detention. She also stressed that the recent arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances by the Houthis of UN, international, and national NGOs is “unprecedented” and appear to be “part of a broader strategy” to suppress the civic and political space in Houthi-controlled areas, create fear, and “threaten humanitarian operations in Yemen”. Al Obahi urged the international community to set clear red lines on actions regarding aid distribution and engagement with civil society, consistently demand respect for international human rights and humanitarian law, and hold the Houthis accountable for their actions.
Key Issues and Options
Insulating Yemen from destabilising regional tensions and reinvigorating the stalled intra-Yemeni political process are key priorities for the Council. Members are likely to continue to call on Yemeni parties to exercise restraint and to take confidence-building measures in order to create conditions conducive to the resumption of talks. In this regard, members could encourage implementation of the economic de-escalation agreement reached on 23 July between the Houthis and the Yemeni government. Although the agreement includes a pledge by the sides to hold meetings to discuss economic and humanitarian issues, no meetings have yet taken place.
How to promote compliance with the 2140 Yemen sanctions regime is going to be a likely focus for the Council this month, as it prepares for the renewal of the mandate of the Yemen Panel of Experts in November. The 2140 Yemen Sanctions Committee held informal consultations on 19 September to discuss the final report of its Panel of Experts, which is expected to be made public in mid-October. Members are likely to soon discuss the possible implementation of the recommendations for the Council that are contained in the report.
An issue increasingly raised by some Council members is the need to address violations of the arms embargo on the Houthis. In this regard, on 6 September, the 2140 Yemen Sanctions Committee sent a letter to all member states, in which it encouraged the government of Yemen to establish a national mechanism—with the support of the international community, where appropriate—that would enhance its capacity to enforce the arms embargo, including through collecting evidence and conducting financial investigations. The letter was based on a recommendation contained in the Panel’s mid-term report, submitted in mid-April.
Council Dynamics
Yemen is an issue on which Council members have maintained general unity in support of UN mediation to achieve a sustainable resolution to the conflict. The Red Sea crisis, however, has produced some notable divisions. The P3 members (France, the UK, and the US) have criticised the Houthis’ destabilising actions, while Council members such as Algeria, China, and Russia emphasise that ending the conflict in Gaza is critical to resolving the crisis in the Red Sea.
Although Council members have expressed concern about the situation of the UN staff detained by the Houthis, they have been unable to send a unified message on the issue. In June, members failed to agree on a press statement proposed by the UK (the penholder on Yemen) due to concerns raised by China and Russia. Among other things, Russia was apparently uncomfortable with language in the draft statement condemning the arrests and calling for the detainees’ release, instead preferring to call for access to the arrested staff. Russia has been taking a similar approach in its statements in Council meetings on Yemen. It has also accused Western countries of double standards, arguing that although they call on the Houthis to release the detained staff, they fail to hold Israel accountable for its actions against UN staff in Gaza and the West Bank.
Some members that have convened side events on Yemen during the high-level segment of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly—such as a 25 September event hosted by the UK and the US about challenges to the provision of humanitarian aid, including the issue of the detained UN staff—have chosen to hold them in a closed format. This might be indicative of the difficulties in agreeing on unified messaging on the file.
The US and Japan have served as co-penholders on the Red Sea crisis. Ambassador Joonkook Hwang (Republic of Korea) chairs the 2140 Yemen Sanctions Committee.
| Security Council Meeting Records | |
| 12 September 2024S/PV.9723 | This was the Security Council’s monthly meeting on Yemen, which was held on 12 September 2024. |
