Yemen: Briefing and Consultations
Tomorrow morning (15 October), the Security Council will hold its regular monthly open briefing and closed consultations on Yemen. UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg, Acting Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Joyce Msuya, and a civil society representative are expected to brief in the public session. The head of the UN Mission to Support the Hodeidah Agreement (UNMHA), Major General Michael Beary, will brief in consultations.
As Yemen continues to be affected by rising regional tensions, the briefers are likely to emphasise the importance of sustaining international attention on internal developments in the country, including the stalled political process and dire humanitarian situation. Many speakers are expected to call on the Yemeni parties to return to dialogue and encourage them to take confidence-building measures to create conditions conducive to the resumption of talks. In this regard, several members may note that the implementation of the economic de-escalation agreement reached on 23 July between the Houthi rebel group and the Yemeni government could provide momentum for the parties to re-engage on the political process.
Grundberg may underscore that he continues to engage with the parties and key actors in the international community despite Yemen’s stalled peace talks. Over the past month, this has included visits to Moscow (10 October) and Tehran (18 September). In these meetings, the Special Envoy emphasised the need for unified international efforts to reverse the current worrying trajectory affecting Yemen. In Moscow, Grundberg stressed the importance of “maintaining the Security Council’s unity on Yemen” and to cooperate to achieve de-escalation, according to a statement issued by his office.
During the Council’s latest briefing on Yemen, held on 12 September, Grundberg announced that his office is preparing to hold additional consultations with political parties and civil society to “promote a vision for an inclusive peace process in Yemen”. He noted that previous consultations have been held with several hundred Yemenis, including women, youth, and tribal leaders. Grundberg might inform members that a first such meeting was held with the Rashad Party on 2 October. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the Office of the Special Envoy noted that the exchange included discussion on “steps towards economic recovery, confidence-building measures, ceasefire and an inclusive political process”, adding that more bilateral and multilateral meetings are planned for the coming weeks.
An expected key focus of tomorrow’s meeting is the Houthis’ ongoing detention of staff from the UN and other international non-governmental organisations (INGOs). The Houthis continue to hold 13 Yemeni national staff belonging to several UN agencies and offices and over 50 NGO and civil society staff members detained in June, as well as four other staffers from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) who were detained in 2021 and in 2023. In a 12 October statement, ten principals of UN entities and INGOs voiced alarm about reports that the Houthis had referred to “criminal prosecution” a “significant number” of detained personnel, including three of the UN staffers detained in 2021 and 2023. The statement stressed that the potential laying of “charges” against these personnel is “unacceptable” and raises serious concerns about the wellbeing of the detained staffers and their families. It also renewed the urgent call for the immediate and unconditional release of all detained staff, a message that the briefers and Council members are likely to echo at tomorrow’s meeting.
On 25 September, during the high-level segment of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly, Council members France, the UK, and the US, together with Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, and the government of Yemen held a side event focusing on the effects of the Houthis’ ongoing detention of UN and other INGO staff. In a statement issued after the event, participants called on countries and organisations to “explore every possible diplomatic channel to advance negotiations” for the staffers’ release and urged the Houthis to provide an “adequate operating environment in which principled humanitarian assistance can be implemented”. Some members may reiterate these and other points from the statement at tomorrow’s meeting.
Msuya is expected to describe efforts by the UN and humanitarian partners to address the overlapping humanitarian crises in the country, including the spread of cholera and growing food insecurity. She might highlight the challenges facing relief efforts, including shrinking space for humanitarian action and funding shortfalls. Msuya is likely to emphasise the need for increased funding for humanitarian efforts in this regard. The 2024 Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan, requiring $2.7 billion, is currently about 40 percent funded. Members might also be interested in Msuya’s assessment of the potential impact of the Houthis’ decision, reportedly announced on 9 October, to close the Supreme Council for the Management and Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and International Cooperation (SCMCHA), a body that coordinated national and international humanitarian activities. SCMCHA’s responsibilities were reportedly transferred to the Houthi Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Another likely focus of tomorrow’s meeting is the effects on Yemen of the heightened regional tensions. The past month saw the intensification of direct conflict between the Houthi rebel group and Israel as well as the continuation of Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and US-led retaliatory strikes. In September, the Houthis launched three separate airborne assaults targeting central Israel (on 15, 28, and 29 September), which did not result in casualties. The attacks in late September 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 have said 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. (For more information, see the brief on Yemen in our October 2024 Monthly Forecast.) On 7 October, the Houthis claimed responsibility for a missile attack targeting central Israel, which was intercepted by Israel’s air defence systems.
On 4 October, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that its forces conducted strikes against 15 Houthi targets, which included “offensive military capabilities”. The strikes reportedly targeted several cities, including Hodeidah and Sana’a, and took place after the Houthis claimed to have launched a missile attack against three US ships that were traveling through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait.
At tomorrow’s meeting, the briefers and several Council members are expected to call for de-escalation and respect for international humanitarian law, including upholding the prohibition against attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure. Members might be interested in Msuya’s assessment about the potential humanitarian effects of the strikes in Hodeidah. In a 1 October statement, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General Stéphane Dujarric noted that, after an initial assessment following the 29 September strikes, humanitarian partners on the ground reported that both ports in Hodeidah “remain operational and able to receive commercial and humanitarian supplies”. He noted, however, that power stations throughout the city are running at limited capacity, adding that the UN is distributing fuel to health facilities to allow them to continue operating.
The Council did not meet following the most recent escalation of hostilities, although it did so after the 19 July Houthi-claimed drone attack on Tel Aviv and a 20 July Israel retaliatory strike in Hodeidah. It seems that Council members may have been focused on other events in the Middle East, including the start of Israel’s ground operation in Lebanon on 1 October and Iran’s airborne assault against Israel on the same day. These developments were discussed in an emergency meeting on 2 October, during which several members also raised issues relating to Yemen.