Merci, Monsieur Le Président.
Monsieur Le Président,
When I briefed this Council last month, I warned that Yemen was facing the greatest risk of a return to large-scale conflict since the 2022 truce. That risk has now turned into a harsh reality.
Over the past twenty-four hours, the fighting has intensified across multiple frontlines, especially the strategic west coast. Ansar Allah launched a major offensive, including on Mokha, the port city that lies roughly 75 kilometers from the Bab al-Mandeb strait, the chokepoint linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden through which a substantial share of global trade and energy passes. As of right now, they have gained control of Mokha, giving them a direct presence on the approaches to one of the world’s most vital straits, although fighting is ongoing and the situation remains fluid. This development is raising serious concerns within the international community about the threat to freedom of navigation.
The developments in Mokha follow weeks of escalation. In early September, Ansar Allah launched extensive attacks in Taiz and Hudaydah, setting off increasingly intense confrontations with Government forces. The fighting has since spread to Marib, al-Jawf, and al-Bayda. Civilians have reportedly been killed in Taiz, and Hudaydah, al-Baydha, al-Jawf and elsewhere, and the shelling of displacement sites in Marib has reportedly killed children and destroyed shelters. According to humanitarian actors, over 11,400 households have been reported as newly displaced countrywide since the 3rd of September, the majority in Taiz and southern Hudaydah, and ongoing fighting continues to drive displacement.
Ansar Allah has also conducted attacks on civilian and energy infrastructure in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which wounded dozens of civilians, and which the United Nations has condemned.
I repeat my call on Ansar Allah to cease its attacks inside Yemen and across the border into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and to cease attacks and threats against commercial vessels.
Mr. President,
This renewed war should alarm us all. It effectively marks the end of the relative calm that Yemen has experienced for over four years since the UN-brokered truce. It not only threatens to plunge Yemen into a prolonged and expanding war, but also risks yet again dragging the country into the wider and unresolved regional confrontation, with global repercussions.
This situation was not inevitable: Yemeni demands can be addressed at the negotiation table, and in the lead-up to the escalation, I tabled proposals that offered a credible alternative. I will continue to engage the Government of Yemen and Ansar Allah to identify feasible ways forward and to keep open options for off-ramps. I will work in close partnership with regional actors, whose engagement is indispensable to help contain the situation. This is my role. What is negotiated, and what is ultimately agreed, is for the Yemenis to decide.
Let me state plainly what I am asking at this stage.
First, channels of engagement need to stay open, even during hostilities. My Office will continue to make such channels available, including through the Military Coordination Committee, the MCC. The MCC offers a practical platform to facilitate exchanges on military and humanitarian incidents, and agree on measures to protect civilians and facilitate their freedom of movement.
Second, international humanitarian law must be upheld at all times by everyone. Civilians and civilian objects must not be targeted, and constant care must be taken to spare them from the effects of military operations.
Third, the pathway to a political settlement needs to be preserved. For years, my Office has consulted Yemenis in all their diversity – political parties, women, youth, civil society and the private sector. Across the country, their demands are strikingly consistent. They ask to reopen roads and airports, pay salaries, improve public services, release detainees, and stabilize a fragmented economy. They want guarantees for equal citizenship, social and economic justice, and state institutions that serve citizens equitably. Such a political future for Yemen will need to be forged through inclusive dialogue and agreement. The UN stands always ready to accompany the Yemeni people along that path.
Monsieur Le Président,
The question before the international community is no longer whether Yemen's war will resume, but how to address a new and more dangerous phase - one whose consequences, if left unchecked, will not stay within Yemen's borders. That is why the unity and sustained engagement of this Council matter now more than at any point in years. Yemen cannot be allowed to slip from the Council's attention. It needs the active investment of every member of this body to contain what could be the precipice of a far more dangerous conflict.
Thank you very much.
