New York: The UN Security Council on Wednesday adopted a resolution condemning “in the strongest terms” multiple Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea over the past two months, which have raised concerns over disruptions in global trade and regional security.
The council demanded that the group immediately cease such behavior and release the Galaxy Leader, a Japan-operated cargo ship with links to an Israeli businessman, and its 25 crew members.
Authored by the US and Japan, the resolution stated that there should be respect for international law that upholds the exercise of navigational rights and freedoms by operators of merchant and commercial vessels. It also noted that member states have the right to defend their vessels from attacks.
Since mid-November 2023, the Houthi rebels have repeatedly attacked commercial vessels in the Red Sea, at last count 24 times, and threatened to continue to do so until Israel ends its war on Gaza.
The capture of the Galaxy Leader was followed by an attempt to seize another commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden on Nov. 26. There have now been almost daily, and indiscriminate, attacks in the Red Sea.
The resolution, which Arab News has seen, stated that member states must respect the targeted arms embargo, and condemned the provision of weapons and related material of all types to the Houthis, which are in violation of UN Resolution 2216. This resolution was adopted in 2015 and demanded that the Houthis withdraw from all occupied areas and relinquish all seized arms. It established an arms embargo on the Houthis and forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Eleven council members voted for Resolution 2722 related to the Houthi attacks, none against, while Russia, China, Algeria and Mozambique abstained.
The council voted down amendments proposed by Russia, one of which would have established a link between the Houthi attacks and the conflict in Gaza and called for a suspension of hostilities in the enclave.
Vassily Nebenzia, Russia’s permanent representative to the UN, told council members prior to the vote that “the escalation in Gaza is the main root cause of the current situation in the Red Sea and without referencing it in the resolution, the causal link will be lost and the main context will be skewed.”
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US’ permanent representative to the UN, said: “Russia’s amendment (falsely) suggested the conflict in Gaza is the cause of the Houthis’ brazenly opportunistic attacks.
“The Houthis are simply intoxicated with power. This amendment would further embolden the Houthis and established a dangerous precedent for the Council to legitimize these violations of international law. As the resolution acknowledges, regional dynamics, including Iran’s provision of advanced weapons, which enable the Houthis to target merchant and commercial vessels, have contributed to this situation.”
The council voted down another Russian amendment requesting to delete the language about states’ right to defend their vessels, which Moscow sees as providing an apparent endorsement for Operation Prosperity Guardian, a US-led multinational military coalition formed in December 2023 to respond to the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea.
Nebenzia questioned the legitimacy of the coalition, saying that the rights of states to defend their vessels from attack does not exist in international law.
“No, this is not a question of ensuring security of navigation (in) the Red Sea but an attempt to legitimize existing actions of this coalition. This innovation looks seriously dubious both from a legal and political point of view.”
The US’ Thomas-Greenfield said that “it is long-established that states have a right to defend merchant and commercial vessels from attacks.”
She also accused Iran of being “deeply involved in planning operations against commercial vessels in the Red Sea.
“The United States does not seek a confrontation with Iran. However, Iran also has a choice: to continue providing or withhold its support for the Houthis, without which the Houthis would struggle to effectively track and strike vessels navigating shipping lanes through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
“Specifically, Iran has transferred advanced weapons systems to the Houthis, including Unmanned Arial Systems, Land Attack Cruise Missiles, and ballistic missiles used in attacks against maritime vessels. Let me be 100 percent clear here: the provision of arms and related material of all types to the Houthis is a violation of Resolution 2216.”
