Yemen: Monthly Briefing and Consultations
Tomorrow morning (14 May), the Security Council will hold its monthly open briefing and closed consultations on Yemen. UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg and Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher will brief. A civil society representative focusing on the women, peace and security (WPS) agenda will also brief.
Greece, the president of the Council in May and a signatory to the Shared Commitments on WPS, has indicated that the meeting will have a WPS focus. Prior to the meeting, nine signatories to the Shared Commitments on WPS—Denmark, France, Greece, Guyana, Panama, the Republic of Korea (ROK), Sierra Leone, Slovenia, and the UK—are expected to deliver a joint statement on WPS in Yemen. The US, which signed on to the Shared Commitments in 2023, will not participate in the joint statement.
At tomorrow’s meeting, several speakers are likely to express concern about the continuation of direct conflict between the Houthi rebel group in Yemen and Israel. The Houthis have continued their attacks on Israel using ballistic missiles and drones—a campaign which they claim is in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. On 4 May, a Houthi-launched missile struck near Israel’s Ben Gurion international airport, injuring eight people. The following day, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) carried out retaliatory strikes on Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen, including on Hodeidah Port and a concrete factory in the Bajil district in Hodeidah Governorate. On 6 May, Israeli attacks continued through a series of airstrikes on Yemen’s Sana’a international airport and several power plants. The Houthis said that the two-day barrage killed at least seven people and wounded 74 others. In a 6 May statement, Grundberg noted that the Houthi attack on Ben Gurion international airport and the subsequent Israeli strikes “mark a grave escalation in an already fragile and volatile regional context”. He called for maximum restraint, the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, and a return to dialogue.
Also on 6 May, US President Donald Trump announced that the US would stop its bombing campaign against the Houthis, which aimed to degrade the group’s capability to attack military and commercial vessels in the Red Sea. (For more information, see the brief on Yemen in our May 2025 Monthly Forecast.) Trump claimed that the rebel group had “capitulated”, adding that the Houthis “don’t want to fight anymore”.
Oman later announced that it had mediated a ceasefire between the US and the Houthis, which includes a cessation of attacks on ships in the Red Sea and the facilitation of freedom of navigation for international shipping. In recent months, the Houthis have repeatedly targeted US military assets in the Red Sea and in Yemen; however, the most recent verified attack against a commercial vessel was in December 2024.
The Houthis have maintained that the agreement does not include a cessation of attacks against Israel, including Israeli ships, and have since then reportedly fired missiles at Israel, which were either intercepted or fell outside Israeli territory. On 8 May, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz threatened the Houthis and Iran—which Israel accuses of militarily and financially supporting the group—with “heavy blows” unless attacks against his country stop. On 11 May, the IDF issued an evacuation warning for the Yemeni ports of Ras Isa, Hodeidah, and Salif. At the time of writing, no airstrikes have since been reported in these areas.
On 7 May, Associate Spokesperson for the Secretary-General Stephanie Tremblay said that the UN welcomed the agreement between the US and the Houthis and commended Oman for its efforts. She added that “the UN had consistently called for restraint and de-escalation in and around Yemen and the wider region”. Tomorrow, Grundberg is likely to refer to the agreement as a positive development and highlight it as an opportunity for further de-escalation and progress on the intra-Yemeni political process. Council members may also welcome this development and call for further steps to create space for dialogue and a return to a peace process under UN auspices. Some members are expected to condemn the Houthis’ continued attacks on Israel and call on the group to cease any further strikes on the country or its vessels, while also stressing the need for civilians and civilian infrastructure in Yemen to be protected from retaliatory airstrikes, a point which Fletcher might also raise.
Council members and Grundberg may stress the need to restore maritime security and freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, which is a vital maritime route for international trade. European members of the Council may highlight the role of EUNAVFOR Operation Aspides in this regard. Several members may also emphasise the importance of the Yemen Maritime Security Partnership—launched by the UK and the Yemeni government in November 2024—as well as the need for continued support to the Yemeni Coast Guard. Some may commend the Coast Guard’s efforts and note that it has been active in intercepting shipments of weapons and equipment intended for the Houthis.
Given that it is almost the one-year anniversary of the Houthis’ 6 June 2024 detention of UN staff and civil society representatives, Council members are likely to reiterate their demand for all detainees arbitrarily detained by the group to be immediately and unconditionally released and for all threats to those delivering humanitarian aid and assistance to cease. Some members may also highlight the plight of women detainees, who have been documented by civil society in Yemen to have faced severe human rights abuses and violence in Houthi prisons.
The civil society representative is expected to brief the Council on the socioeconomic challenges faced by women and girls in Yemen, the disproportionate humanitarian impact of the prolonged conflict on them, and the need for their improved inclusion in political and peace processes. Several Council members are likely to underscore that women must be allowed to participate in political processes, mediation, and peace efforts for a comprehensive political resolution to be achieved in Yemen. Some members may call for increased protection of women and girls, and for the lifting of the Houthis’ enforcement of mahram policy, which restricts the freedom of movement of women unaccompanied by male guardians. This policy has been reported to negatively impact female aid workers’ ability to deliver humanitarian assistance.
The humanitarian needs in Yemen continue to grow due to deteriorating economic conditions, security challenges for humanitarian operations, the collapse of essential services, and debilitating funding shortfalls. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), as at 13 May, the 2025 Yemen Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) was only nine percent funded, marking “the lowest funding coverage in well over a decade”. OCHA has published an addendum to the HNRP, which presents the most urgent funding requirements for critical life-saving assistance, totaling $1.42 billion to assist 8.8 million people until the end of the year.
Tomorrow, Fletcher is expected to focus on the impact of the humanitarian crisis on Yemeni children and the alarming rates of malnutrition in the country, where around 2.4 million children under the age of five are suffering from acute malnutrition. Pregnant and lactating women are also being affected, with 1.5 million facing acute malnutrition. Against this backdrop, UNICEF announced on 11 May the launching of an initiative to accelerate undernutrition reduction in Yemen, targeting 32 high-priority districts across 12 governates. Fletcher may also highlight other challenges faced by children in Yemen, such as exposure to landmines and the lack of access to education.
