Urging parties in Yemen to build on fresh momentum generated by the United States-Iran peace deal and the release of 1,600 prisoners held over two years of Yemen's protracted civil war, speakers in the Security Council today called on the Aden-based Government and Sana'a-based Houthis to work towards an inclusive political settlement.
The spectre of Yemen being drawn into the regional conflict sparked by Israel and the United States against Iran on 28 February has loomed large in recent months . While a recently announced peace deal may provide an opportunity for de-escalation, it remains to be seen how the Houthi movement - officially known as Ansar Allah - will react. Previously, the armed group has threatened maritime security in the Red Sea and has arbitrarily detained UN and other staff for the past two years .
"For nearly three years, regional shockwaves have complicated prospects for the Yemeni peace process," said Hans Grundberg, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen. Welcoming the deal recently announced by Iran and the United States, he expressed hope that it will mark "a turning point for the region". Outlining the stakes, he stressed that - despite relative calm inside the country since the 2022 truce - "Yemen's conflict is unresolved, not over, and every day it is Yemenis who bear the cost of this uncertain status quo".
To illustrate, he described "entrenched" front lines across the country that are draining resources, deepening fragmentation and accelerating the militarization of society - "even driving students and teachers to join armed groups simply as a means of economic survival". The recent regional conflict has increased pressure on a Yemeni economy dependent on imports, raising the cost of food and fuel.
While the Government's economic reforms and a $150 million grant from Saudi Arabia to supply fuel will help, fundamental issues can only be "addressed sustainably" through negotiations between the parties and an inclusive political process under UN auspices, he said. The recent agreement to release over 1,600 conflict-related detainees after 14 weeks of UN-facilitated negotiations represents "the largest release operation agreed in the history of the conflict", he noted.
Noting that it has been several years since the parties met face to face for political talks, he underlined the need to "establish a way forward towards changing that reality". They must use the current "window of regional de-escalation" to revive a political process to sustainably end the conflict.
Hunger Crisis Deepens by the Day
Detailing the imperative to do so, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher reported that more than 18 million Yemenis - over half the population - are now acutely hungry. Access limitations in Houthi-controlled areas are making needs harder to assess and address. To be sure, "Yemen's humanitarian crisis is accelerating", he warned. "A lack of data does not mean a lack of need."
He went on to say that more than 2.2 million children under the age of five are acutely malnourished, as shrinking funding is forcing humanitarians to cut back aid amidst a crisis driven by conflict, economic collapse, rising prices, lost livelihoods and a weakened health system. "Every funding cut has a human cost - a missed meal, untreated malnutrition, a community cut off from help," he said.
He called for the immediate, unconditional release of the 73 UN staff and others who remain detained, as well as timely funding for the humanitarian response and renewed support for peace efforts. Aid alone can neither end this crisis nor give Yemenis the future they deserve, he cautioned. "Only a political solution - owned by the people of Yemen and supported by this Council - can do that."
Delegates Call for Swift Action on Prisoner Release, Trust-Building towards Political Settlement
To be sure, that political process must "move forward with renewed urgency and determination", Pakistan's representative said, stressing that a negotiated settlement is possible. "The fact that Yemen has not relapsed into large-scale hostilities despite numerous challenges is itself significant," he said. He expressed hope that momentum from peace deal announced by the United States and Iran - in which Pakistan played a constructive role - would "reverberate across the region".
Other Council members welcomed the recent agreement to release certain detainees while condemning the continued detention of others. These included the representatives of the United Kingdom, Latvia, Panama and Colombia, Council President for June. Denmark's representative called on parties to "move swiftly". On the second anniversary of the mass detentions by the Houthis in June 2024, "we hope that this deal can serve as a necessary trust-building measure to help advance the release of UN and other colleagues who remain arbitrarily detained," she said.
"The path towards lasting peace lies through dialogue, compromise and sustained political engagement," said Somalia's representative, also speaking for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Liberia. Expressing concern over Yemen's fragility - defined by political uncertainty, economic hardship, humanitarian distress and persistent regional insecurity - he warned that this crisis is one of the world's gravest as millions are dependent on aid.
Joining others in calling for flexible, predictable funding for humanitarian assistance and safe, rapid and unhindered access to deliver it, he underscored the importance of "sustained efforts to deliver calm and prevent any actions that could lead to escalation".
Several Condemn Houthi Missile Attacks against Israel, Expansion of Regional Confrontation
In that context, some members welcomed the recently announced peace deal between Iran and the United States. While stressing that "peace [in Yemen] can only be achieved through dialogue and negotiations", the representative of the Russian Federation linked the country's prospects to regional de-escalation and welcomed understandings to that end reached between Washington, D.C., and Tehran.
The representative of the United States, for her part, condemned the Houthis' 8 June missile attacks against Israel, as well as the group's declared ban on Israeli maritime navigation in the Red Sea. "The Council must continue to be vigilant against the Houthi terrorist threat to freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and the surrounding waterways," she stressed.
She added that - according to the United Nations Verification and Inspection Mechanism for Yemen - more than 70 per cent of prohibited or restricted dual-use items seized between January 2025 and April 2026 originated in China. "Failure to cooperate with [the Mechanism's] inspection suggests an attempt to evade UN sanctions," she said. China's representative, however, rejected this accusation as "entirely unfounded".
The representatives of Greece and France also condemned the Houthis' recent missile attack against Israel alongside the group's announced resumption of attacks against international shipping in the Red Sea region. "These acts must cease immediately," declared the latter. Bahrain's representative also rejected any expansion of regional confrontation through Yemen or the Bab-el-Mandeb strait. "Such actions pose a serious threat to regional and international peace and security," he warned.
A Stable Yemen Means Secure Sea Lanes
The representative of Yemen, meanwhile, urged the Council to remember a "fundamental truth": "The very group detaining UN staff for carrying out their humanitarian work is the same militia with whom the international community has long urged us to negotiate." As recent events make clear, the crisis in Yemen is not merely an internal conflict; it is "an open confrontation with a subversive agenda that directly threatens regional and international security".
Explaining further, he said the Houthis have become the "military arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard", using Yemeni territory to threaten regional States, target international shipping and hold the global economy hostage. As a result, Yemen has "effectively become a launch pad for a cross-border regional agenda". The international community must "address these facts both responsibly and firmly".
To be sure, security in the Red Sea "begins on Yemeni soil", he said, and protecting international navigation starts with supporting the Yemeni State - "not merely managing the consequences of its destabilization". He concluded: "The longer the international community delays addressing the source of the threat, the higher the cost of safeguarding regional and international security becomes."
