The Security Council adopted a resolution to label Yemen’s Houthi rebel militia a “terrorist group” and condemned the group’s attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
In a resolution voted 11 against 4 abstentions (Ireland, Norway, Mexico and Brazil), and for which all the permanent members of the Security Council voted favourably, the sanctions against Yemen were renewed and the group Yemeni rebels were added to the sanctioned list.
The Yemeni rebels who have led the country to war since 2015, known as the Houthis or Ansar Allah, have been labeled a “terrorist group”, and now the arms embargo has been expanded to include them.
The Security Council “also decides that the Houthi movement shall be subject to the measures imposed by paragraph 14 of resolution 2216 (2015). In particular, it calls on Member States to take the necessary measures to prevent the direct or indirect supply, sale and transfer of arms and related materiel of all types to certain entities,” reads the statement sanctioning the meeting on Yemen. .
“The Council (…) strongly condemns the cross-border attacks by Houthi terrorist groups which have struck civilians and civilian infrastructure in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates”, adds the text.
The Houthi rebel militia is described as a “terrorist group” by the UN, because of the numerous violations against the Yemeni population and the international community.
The resolution extends the mandate of the Panel of Experts until March 28, 2023 and requests the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, to take as soon as possible the administrative measures necessary to re-establish the Panel of Experts on Yemen, in consultation with the Commission.
The latest report of the Panel of Experts on Yemen confirmed the transfer of arms from outside Yemen to the Houthi group, and found that this transfer of arms was a violation of the arms embargo imposed on Yemen. This new resolution refers to the conclusions of the Group of Experts.
Furthermore, the text condemns in the strongest terms the increasing attacks against civilian and commercial vessels, as well as the seizure of commercial vessels off the coast of Yemen. And reiterates “its deep concern” at the declared intention of the Houthis to launch attacks against civilian targets, such as the one that targeted the United Arab Emirates.
In mid-February, UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths stressed that the war in Yemen continued to threaten millions of lives across the country. “And for now, this crisis shows no signs of easing,” he told the Security Council.
“We have witnessed a brutal and dangerous escalation of the conflict over the past six weeks. This had devastating consequences for civilians and civilian infrastructure,” he added.