UNITED NATIONS (AP) – The United Nations Security Council on Wednesday scheduled a vote on a resolution condemning attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels on merchant vessels and vessels in the Red Sea region and calling for an immediate end to them.
A draft U.S. resolution obtained by The Associated Press says at least 20 Houthi attacks have disrupted global commerce and “undermined the rights and freedoms of navigation, as well as regional peace and security.” .
Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthis launch largest Red Sea drone and missile attack ever
U.S. Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood told reporters Wednesday ahead of the vote that the resolution's purpose is to send a message that attacks on commercial shipping are unacceptable and must stop. “Freedom of navigation and commercial activity at sea is critical to the commerce and national security of many countries,” he said.
“We hope it passes,” he said, “but we don't know how…one Security Council member will vote.”
Wood was referring to Russia, which last week questioned the resolution's impact on peace efforts in Yemen and the escalation of the Israel-Hamas war. There is a possibility of abstaining or vetoing the resolution.
The Iran-backed Houthis, who have been in a civil war with Yemen's internationally recognized government since 2014, said they launched the attack aimed at ending Israel's devastating air and ground offensive in the Gaza Strip. Ta.
The incident began with a surprise attack on October 7 in southern Israel by the Palestinian extremist group Hamas, which killed about 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages. Three months of Israeli attacks in Gaza have killed more than 23,000 people, two-thirds of them women, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which is run by the Hamitic faction and does not distinguish between civilians and fighters. They say it's a child.
The resolution calls for the immediate release of the Galaxy Leader, the first ship attacked by the Houthis. The Galaxy Leader is a Japanese-run cargo ship with ties to an Israeli company that was seized by the Houthis along with her crew on November 19.
But the link to the vessels targeted by rebel attacks has become more tenuous as the attacks continue. In the latest incident, the Houthis fired a barrage of drones and missiles at ships in the Red Sea late Tuesday, but the United States said no damage was reported.
The Red Sea connects the Middle East and Asia with Europe via the Suez Canal and its narrow Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Almost 10% of all oil trade and an estimated $1 trillion in goods pass through the strait each year. But Houthi attacks have forced many shipping companies to bypass this route and take a much longer and more expensive route around Africa's Cape of Good Hope.
A multinational coalition led by the United States is patrolling the Red Sea and trying to thwart the attack.
Last week, the United States and 12 other countries issued a statement calling for an immediate end to Houthi attacks and warning that further attacks require collective action. “If the Houthis continue to threaten human life, the global economy, and the free flow of commerce in the region’s vital waterways, they will bear responsibility for the consequences,” they said.
The Houthis have not stopped attacking ships, but a tentative ceasefire between them and the Saudi-led coalition fighting on behalf of Yemen's government-in-exile has been in place for months despite the country's long war. . That has raised concerns that a broader conflict at sea or the possibility of retaliatory attacks by Western powers could reignite tensions in the Arab world's poorest country.
At a public meeting of the Security Council last week, Russia's Ambassador to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzia called on Houthi leaders to implement the 13-nation statement and halt the attacks.
But he said the Houthis' actions should be seen as a response to “Israel's brutal campaign in Gaza” and that the best-case scenario is for the Security Council to step up efforts to end the Yemeni civil war and the Israeli-Hamas conflict. He emphasized that this would be doubled.
Nebenzia said a “catastrophic” scenario would be an escalation of the use of force in the Red Sea, risking derailing the resolution of the conflict in Yemen. It would also create the conditions for “a new large-scale conflict, at least around the Arabian Peninsula” and broader regional conflict, he said.
The final draft includes several changes that appear to be aimed at gaining broader support.
The original draft would have recognized “the right of member states to take appropriate measures in accordance with international law for the defense of their commercial and naval vessels.”
The final draft is weaker and excludes UN recognition of a country's right to defend its own ships. Affirms instead that the rights and freedoms of navigation of commercial ships and ships must be respected, noting “the right of Member States to defend their ships against attack, including attacks that impair the right of navigation, in accordance with international law”; It's going to happen. And freedom. ”
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The draft, which will be voted on without naming Iran, the Houthis' main arms supplier, condemns any arms deals with the rebels that violate Security Council sanctions. It would also seek “additional practical cooperation to prevent the Houthis from obtaining the supplies they need to carry out further attacks.”
While both drafts recognize the need to de-escalate the situation, the resolution to be voted on is broader. “We urge caution and restraint to avoid further deterioration of the situation in the Red Sea and wider region.” “We encourage increased diplomatic efforts by all parties to that end, including dialogue under the auspices of the United Nations and continued support for the peace process in Yemen.”
