Yemen Must Not Be Drawn into Regional Escalation, UN Officials Warn, as Security Council Speakers Call for Restraint, Urgent Humanitarian Action

Yemen Must Not Be Drawn into Regional Escalation, UN Officials Warn, as Security Council Speakers Call for Restraint, Urgent Humanitarian Action

Yemen must not be drawn into the escalating conflict in the Middle East, speakers told the Security Council today, stressing the need for de-escalation, political progress and urgent humanitarian funding for a country and people precariously positioned in a volatile region.

A ceasefire currently exists between the United States and Iran, following over a month of military action commenced by Israel and the United States against Iran on 28 February. In connection with that conflict, the Houthis - officially known as Ansar Allah - launched military attacks against Israel at the end of March.

Tensions from this and earlier regional conflicts have long had implications for maritime security, and the Council adopted resolution 2722 (2024) two years ago demanding that the Houthis cease attacks against merchant and commercial vessels in the Red Sea.

Recently, on 7 April, China and the Russian Federation vetoed a resolution seeking to deter attempts to interfere with international navigation through the Strait of Hormuz or to threaten maritime security in the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, the latter of which lies between Yemen and the Horn of Africa.

Higher Food, Fuel Costs Amplify Yemen's Acute Fragility

"After a decade of conflict, Yemen has little margin to absorb more shocks," said Hans Grundberg, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for that country, recalling his recent trip to Yemen's temporary capital of Aden.

There have been positive developments, including the approval of the 2026 State budget - the first in seven years - and the conclusion of consultations between the Government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the first in 11 years. "But, Yemen remains highly exposed to the economic repercussions of the regional escalation and, as the global situation has made clear, it is always the poorest and most vulnerable who bear the heaviest burden," he observed.

Yemenis have long faced inadequate public services, delayed salaries and rising prices, he said. Now, they must contend with even higher costs for fuel and food triggered by conflict in the region. Yemen also depends on remittances from Gulf Cooperation Council countries, which risk declining. These new pressures join old ones, he added - obstruction of Government exports, division of the central bank and the "broader weaponization of economic life that has, for too long, made ordinary Yemenis pay the price of decisions taken over their heads".

And despite broad de-escalation that has held since the 2022 truce, he emphasized that "this relative calm cannot be taken for granted". Nevertheless, he underscored that Yemenis' future must not be held hostage by that instability and that an inclusive political process must be pursued. While the uncertainty of the moment offers a temptation for conflicting parties to believe that the regional storm may "rearrange the table in ways that excuse one from the discomfort of compromise", he observed: "To bet on the storm is to bet on something no one fully controls."

Humanitarian Needs Soar as Access Is Slowed; Women, Children 'Hit First and Fastest'

Edem Wosornu, Director of the Crisis Response Division in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, echoed Mr. Grundberg's concerns for the 22 million and rising number of Yemenis who require humanitarian aid. "This crisis is hitting the most vulnerable first and hardest," she stressed, reporting that more than 18 million people face severe hunger and that two out of every three families are forced to skip meals daily. "Women and children are hit first and fastest," she added.

On that, she reported that over 2 million children under five are acutely malnourished and over 1 million pregnant and breastfeeding women face life-threatening complications due to malnutrition. Further, more than 19 million people lack access to healthcare, and vaccine-preventable diseases are rapidly spreading. Meanwhile, aid operations have slowed as 73 UN staff remain arbitrarily detained by the Houthis, assets have been seized, access is severely restricted and supply chains have been disrupted across the region.

"The gap between the resources we have and the soaring humanitarian needs is widening," she stressed, noting that the Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for Yemen seeks $2.16 billion to deliver life-saving assistance to 12 million people in 2026. Recalling that the 2025 appeal was only 29 per cent funded - one of the biggest shortfalls in a decade - she urged: "Fund the response now."

Alarm over Collapse of Humanitarian Funding, Spillover of Regional Conflict

Council members echoed that imperative, with the representative of Somalia - also speaking for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Liberia - voicing alarm over the "funding collapse" faced by the response to "one of the world's most severe humanitarian crises". Additionally, the 31 March expiration of the mandate for the United Nations Mission to Support the Hudaydah Agreement (UNMHA), "marks a significant transition in the Security Council's engagement". Progress on the political track must be accompanied by a "tangible" economic improvement.

Pakistan's representative spotlighted another point of connectivity: "Developments in Yemen cannot be viewed in isolation from the evolving regional security environment." Underscoring that Yemen must not be drawn into regional conflict, he said that attacks targeting maritime routes are "unacceptable", as they disrupt global trade, heighten risks to energy and food supply chains and would "accentuate the growing regionalization of the conflict".

Similarly, the representative of Panama stressed that "no critical sea lane" should be used for pressure or blackmail, underlining the importance of maritime security to the global economy. "The unimpeded passage of commercial and merchant vessels must be always safeguarded," concurred Greece's representative, who highlighted the role played by the European Union's Operation Aspides in safeguarding freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.

China's representative also said that safe passage in that waterway must be ensured. He called on the international community to intensify efforts to resolve disputes via political and diplomatic routes. "In today's Yemen, the parties to the conflict lack mutual trust," he observed. The international community, then, must support efforts towards reconciliation, while the Special Envoy's office "should exercise its role as a ceasefire monitor".

"De-escalation is crucial to prevent further regional spillover," emphasized Denmark's representative. The Houthis must facilitate unhindered humanitarian access to those in need "in accordance with their obligations under international humanitarian law". She condemned the Houthis' continued detention of UN, civil-society and diplomatic staff, and called for their immediate, unconditional release - a point reiterated by the representatives of France, Colombia and others.

United States Denounces Houthis, 'Benefactors' in Tehran, as Russian Federation Warns against Isolating Any Party

The representative of the United States, meanwhile, called on all Member States to "deprive the Houthis of the resources needed for their destabilizing activities" and stressed that Iran has defied Council resolutions in this regard. Pointing to recent Houthi attacks against Israel, she stressed: "The Houthis' willingness to drag Yemen into conflict for the sake of [their] benefactors in Tehran is the latest demonstration of [their] total disregard for the people of Yemen."

While welcoming the ceasefire between Iran and the United States, the representative of the United Kingdom warned that the Houthis' recent attacks against Israel threaten to further destabilize the region and undermine Yemen's security. He also joined other speakers in calling for a stepped-up global response to the country's urgent humanitarian needs.

Latvia's representative agreed on both points. She noted that the 2026 humanitarian response plan for Yemen - which already paints an "alarming picture" - was drafted before the latest escalation and therefore does not contemplate the economic shocks that will likely follow. She urged donors to avoid a repeat of 2025's underfunding. Additionally, she stated: "We unequivocally condemn the move by the Houthis to enter the conflict by conducting direct military strikes against Israel."

In that vein, the representative of Bahrain, Council President for April, spoke in his national capacity to underscore the need to spare Yemen from entanglement in regional conflicts that would prolong the suffering of its people or turn its territory into "a platform for the implementation of Iranian agendas". However, the Houthis continue to threaten closure of the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, which he stressed is linked to "broader attempts to impose a reality that restricts freedom of navigation in vital maritime corridors" to pressure the international community.

However, the representative of the Russian Federation cautioned against isolating any party, including the Houthis. "The Houthis represent an integral component of the Yemeni political landscape," he said, and any solution to the conflict is "doomed to failure" without their engagement. And as recent escalation in the Middle East raises risks of "reigniting the hot phase of the civil war" in Yemen, he stressed that the Council's priority should be to "promptly and expeditiously normalize the situation".

Yemen's Future Hinges on Rebuilding State Institutions, Ending Armed Rebellion, Delegate Insists

For his part, Yemen's representative said that such escalation reflects "the Iranian regime's continued insistence on exporting crises, spreading chaos and undermining security and stability in the region". Warning against continued Iranian interference in his country's internal affairs - including by financing, arming and supporting the "terrorist Houthi militias" - he said that recent developments confirm that the Houthis' continued possession of weapons undermines the foundations of State-building.

He concluded: "Any future political process must be based on the restoration of State institutions, the monopoly of arms in the hands of the State and the end of all forms of armed rebellion."