Yemen: Votes on Draft Resolutions Extending UNMHA’s Mandate and the Houthi Red Sea Attacks Reporting Requirement*
On Monday morning (14 July), the Security Council is scheduled to vote on a draft resolution extending the mandate of the UN Mission to support the Hodeidah Agreement (UNMHA) for another six and a half months, until 28 January 2026. The UK, the penholder on Yemen, authored the text.
Additionally, on Tuesday afternoon (15 July), the Security Council is expected to hold a meeting under the “Maintenance of international peace and security” agenda item to vote on a draft resolution extending until 15 January 2026 the monthly reporting requirement for the Secretary-General on attacks by the Houthi rebel group in Yemen on merchant and commercial vessels in the Red Sea. Greece and the US, the co-penholders on the Red Sea crisis, authored the text.
UNMHA Mandate Renewal Resolution
UNMHA is a special political mission (SPM) which was established on 16 January 2019 through the unanimous adoption of resolution 2452. Since its inception, the aim of the mission has been to support the implementation of the Agreement on the City of Hodeidah and the Ports of Hodeidah, Salif and Ras Issa as set out in the Stockholm Agreement of 13 December 2018 between the government of Yemen and the Houthi rebel group. The Security Council also tasked UNMHA with leading the Redeployment Coordination Committee (RCC) to oversee the ceasefire and the mutual redeployment of forces.
The Secretary-General’s most recent annual review of UNMHA, transmitted in a 10 June letter and covering developments since 11 June 2024, describes frequent engagements by the RCC with the Yemeni government and the Houthis. It also says that, while UNMHA patrols increased in 2024, they were conducted in an “extremely restrictive environment” due to the Houthis’ denial of requests for greater access and more frequent patrolling. The Secretary-General notes, however, that during the reporting period UNMHA saw “stronger cooperation” with both parties in implementing the agreement, and a willingness by both parties to explore avenues for de-escalating tensions.
The annual review of UNMHA also describes the challenges in the mission’s operating environment due to developments related to Israeli and US airstrikes in Hodeidah in retaliation for Houthi attacks against Israel and the group’s targeting of vessels in the Red Sea. It provides information about damage inflicted by the strikes, while emphasising the need to ensure that the ports of Hodeidah, Salif, and Ras Issa remain open and fully operational to prevent further worsening of Yemen’s already dire humanitarian situation. In this regard, it notes that Hodeidah Port alone facilitates around 70 percent of Yemen’s commercial imports and 80 percent of humanitarian assistance. (For background and more information, see the brief on Yemen in our July 2025 Monthly Forecast and 8 July What’s in Blue story.)
Since July 2020, the Council has extended UNMHA’s mandate on an annual basis. Similar to the resolutions adopted in 2023 and 2024, this year’s draft resolution retains the mission’s mandate, as contained in resolution 2643 of 13 July 2022.
Unlike in previous years, however, the draft text in blue only extends UNMHA’s mandate for a further six and a half months. During that period, it requests the Secretary-General to conduct a review of the mission on how to improve efficiencies, structural coherence, and coordination across UN missions in Yemen. It seems that the intention is for this review to inform the Council’s deliberations on UNMHA’s next mandate renewal.
The draft resolution in blue also includes new language expressing the Council’s intention to review the “full range of options” for the mandate, including “assessing the future viability and sunsetting of the Mission”. This language reflects the position of the US, which has expressed the view that the mission should be shut down. During the Security Council’s latest briefing on Yemen, held on 9 July, the US said that UNMHA has “outlived its usefulness” and argued that “it is time to sunset the mission”. It further maintained that the RCC is a “non-functioning committee tasked with overseeing activities that have long been superseded by circumstances”.
The US position does not seem to have been shared by other Council members, some of which have emphasised the importance of the mission’s work. At the 9 July briefing, Russia noted that UNMHA has served as a stabilising actor and that the RCC facilitates interaction between the warring parties, arguing that this is crucial “for securing unimpeded humanitarian access” and that extending the mission’s mandate is necessary to avoid a further deterioration of the situation.
Due to the opposing views on the question of UNMHA’s future, the draft resolution in blue does not definitively express the Council’s intention to “sunset” the mission. In an apparent compromise, “sunsetting” the mission is included as part of a range of options, such as an assessment of the mission’s future viability.
Another addition to the text is the language requesting the Secretary-General to present to the Council, before 28 November, another review of UNMHA focusing on delivering further efficiencies and structural coherence and coordination across UN missions in Yemen. This was apparently included to address an observation listed in the Secretary-General’s most recent annual review, noting that the evolving context within the region could create opportunities to improve on these elements. It seems that the US initially opposed this request during the negotiations—in line with its view that the mission should instead be shut down—however, this provision has been retained in the draft resolution in blue. The US also apparently opposed the inclusion of language which noted “financial and other” challenges that have directly impeded UNMHA’s mandate. The draft resolution in blue retains only a reference to challenges, without specifying the financial aspect.
Although several issues required discussion, the draft resolution seems to have been negotiated relatively quickly. The penholder circulated an initial draft of the text on 3 July. Following edits submitted by the US, a first revision of the draft was circulated on 9 July, which was put under silence procedure until 10 July. The US broke silence, reiterating edits to make the sunset language more definitive. On 11 July, after apparently having found a compromise, the penholder put the text in blue.
Resolution on Houthi Red Sea Attacks Reporting Requirement
The draft resolution in blue extends the Secretary-General’s monthly reporting requirement on Houthi attacks in the Red Sea for another six months, until 15 January 2026. The reporting obligation was established by resolution 2722 of 10 January 2024 and last renewed through resolution 2768 of 15 January.
The draft text in blue is a short straightforward renewal, with one preambular paragraph recalling all relevant previous resolutions, and one operative paragraph extending the reporting requirement outlined in resolution 2722.
Greece and the US circulated the draft resolution to Council members on 10 July, with a short period for comments until the morning of 11 July. No edits to the draft were proposed and the co-penholders proceeded to put the text in blue on the afternoon of the same day.
It seems that, during the comment period, Russia reiterated concerns that it continues to have regarding resolution 2722. Algeria, China, and Russia have consistently abstained on all resolutions renewing the reporting requirement established by this resolution. These members have expressed concern about language contained in resolution 2722 regarding states’ right to defend their merchant and naval vessels from attack and the apparent endorsement that this provides for attacks in Yemen carried out by member states such as the US and the UK. They have also expressed the view that a more explicit reference to the link between the Red Sea crisis and the conflict in Gaza is necessary. (For more information, see our 10 January 2024, 26 June 2024, and 15 January What’s in Blue stories.)
This recent extension of the reporting requirement comes against the backdrop of renewed Houthi attacks against commercial vessels in the Red Sea on 6 and 7 July—on the MV Magic Seas and the MV Eternity C, respectively—which resulted in at least four deaths and several injuries. The US Embassy in Yemen has also accused the Houthis of kidnapping several crew members of the MV Eternity C. The two attacks drew wide condemnation from Council members during the 9 July Council meeting on Yemen. In a 10 July statement, UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg called on the Houthis to cease such escalatory attacks, while an 11 July statement attributable to Secretary-General António Guterres also strongly condemned the attacks.
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**Post-script (14 July): On 14 July, the Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2786, renewing the mandate of the UN Mission to support the Hodeidah Agreement (UNMHA) until 28 January 2026. The resolution requested the Secretary-General to present to the Council, before 28 November 2025, a further review of UNMHA with a view to delivering further efficiencies and structural coherence and coordination across UN missions in Yemen.
**Post-script (15 July): On 15 July, the Security Council adopted resolution 2787, extending until 15 January 2026 the monthly reporting requirement for the Secretary-General on attacks by the Houthi rebel group in Yemen on merchant and commercial vessels in the Red Sea. The resolution was adopted with 12 votes in favour and three abstentions (Algeria, China, and Russia). In their explanations of vote, Algeria, China, and Russia indicated that their votes were consistent with their abstentions on the previous resolutions on the Red Sea crisis (2722, 2739, and 2768), and that they reflect their concerns over the resolution’s implementation by some member states not being consistent with international law and the respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries. They further emphasised the need to refer to the war in Gaza as a root cause of the current tensions in the Red Sea.
