The UN Security Council adopted a resolution Wednesday condemning and demanding an immediate halt to attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels on merchant and commercial vessels in the Red Sea area.
The resolution, sponsored by the United States and Japan, says at least two dozen Houthi attacks are impeding global commerce "and undermine navigational rights and freedoms as well as regional peace and security."
The vote was 11-0 with four abstentions -- Russia, China, Algeria and Mozambique. Immediately before the vote, the council rejected three proposed Russian amendments.
The Iranian-backed Houthis, who have been engaged in a civil war with Yemen's internationally recognized government since 2014, have said they launched the attacks with the aim of ending Israel's devastating air-and-ground offensive in the Gaza Strip.
It was triggered by the Palestinian militant group Hamas' Oct. 7 surprise attack in southern Israel which killed about 1,200 people and led to some 250 others being taken hostage. Israel's three-month assault in Gaza has killed more than 23,000 people, two-thirds of them women and children, according to the Hams-run Gaza Health Ministry which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
The resolution demands the immediate release of the first ship the Houthis attacked, the Galaxy Leader, a Japanese-operated cargo ship with links to an Israeli company that it seized on Nov. 19 along with its crew.
However, the links to the ships targeted in the rebel assaults have grown more tenuous as the attacks continue. In the latest incident, a barrage of drones and missiles fired by the Houthis late Tuesday targeted shipping in the Red Sea, though the U.S. said no damage was reported.
The Red Sea links the Mideast and Asia to Europe via the Suez Canal, and its narrow Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Nearly 10% of all oil trade and an estimated $1 trillion in goods pass through the strait annually. But the Houthi attacks have forced many shipping companies to bypass this route and use the much longer and more expensive route around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa.
A U.S.-led coalition of nations has been patrolling the Red Sea to try to prevent the attacks.
Last week the U.S. and 12 other countries issued a statement calling for the immediate end of Houthi attacks and warning that further attacks would require collective action. "The Houthis will bear the responsibility of the consequences should they continue to threaten lives, the global economy, and free flow of commerce in the region's critical waterways," they said.
While the Houthis have not stopped targeting ships, a tentative cease-fire between the Houthis and a Saudi-led coalition fighting on behalf of Yemen's exiled government has held for months despite that country's long war. That's raised concerns that any wider conflict in the sea -- or a potential reprisal strike from Western forces -- could reignite those tensions in the Arab world's poorest nation.
At an open Security Council meeting last week, Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia called on Houthi leaders to implement the statement by the 13 countries and halt attacks.
But he stressed that the Houthi's actions must be seen as a response to "Israel's brutal operation in Gaza," and the best scenario would be for the Security Council to redouble efforts to end the Yemen civil war and the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The "catastrophic" scenario, Nebenzia said, would be to escalate the use of force in the Red Sea which risks derailing a settlement of the Yemen conflict. It would also create conditions "for igniting a new major conflict around at least the Arabian Peninsula" and a wider regional conflict, he said.
The final draft makes some changes that appeared aimed at getting broader support.
The initial draft would have recognized "the right of member states, in accordance with international law, to take appropriate measures to defend their merchant and naval vessels."
The final draft which was approved Wednesday eliminated any UN recognition of a country's right to defend its ships. Instead, it affirms that the navigational rights and freedoms of merchant and commercial vessels must be respected, and takes note "of the right of member states, in accordance with international law, to defend their vessels from attacks, including those that undermine navigational rights and freedoms."
Without naming Iran, the Houthis' main arms supplier, the resolution condemns all arms dealings with the rebels, which violate Security Council sanctions. It also calls for "additional practical cooperation to prevent the Houthis from acquiring the materiel necessary to carry out further attacks."
The original and final draft recognized the need to avoid escalating the situation, but the resolution approved Wednesday is broader. It "urges caution and restraint to avoid further escalation of the situation in the Red Sea and the broader region." And it "encourages enhanced diplomatic efforts by all parties to that end, including continued support for dialogue and Yemen's peace process under the UN auspices."
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