From the Liveblog of
Friday, June 28, 2024
UN Security Council demands Houthis stop attacks, skirts around Gaza war
The UN Security Council has approved a resolution demanding Yemen’s Houthi rebels halt all attacks on ships and urged that the disruption to maritime security in a critical Middle East waterway be urgently addressed.
The resolution makes no mention that the Iran-backed rebels claim they are staging the attacks because of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
The resolution, which also extended the requirement that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres report monthly on the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, was approved by a 12-0 vote, with Russia, China and Algeria abstaining.
The resolution condemns the Houthis’ continuing attacks, emphasizing the need to address root causes, “including the conflicts contributing to regional tensions and the disruption to maritime security.”
The resolution, which was a follow-up resolution to one adopted on January 10 that condemned and demanded an immediate halt to Houthi attacks, “urges caution and restraint to avoid further escalation of the situation in the Red Sea and the broader region.”
Speaking on behalf of the United States and Japan, which sponsored the resolution, US deputy ambassador Robert Wood says the Houthi attacks “threaten international peace and security” and that they are “a global challenge” that “necessitates a global solution.”
“With this resolution, the council once again sends a clear message to the Houthis: Cease these attacks immediately,” he says.
China’s deputy UN ambassador Geng Shuang said Beijing abstained as it did in January because some key elements in the resolution “could have negative consequences and lead to further escalation of regional tensions.”
An immediate and lasting cease-fire in Gaza “will help cool down the situation in Yemen and the Red Sea,” Geng says.
