UN Security Council adopts Yemen sanctions resolution by consensus

The UN Security Council adopted a resolution on Yemen sanctions by consensus in New York on 12 November, according to an explanation of the vote published by the UK government. The UK says the measure strengthens implementation of the regime’s arms embargo, which could bring dual-use items into scope of sanctions measures.

Ambassador Sarah MacIntosh, the UK’s permanent representative to the UN, delivered the explanation after the vote. The resolution’s full text and number were not available in the UK statement, so its precise operative provisions cannot be described here.

• The UK says the Council adopted the resolution by consensus on 12 November.
• The UK describes the measure as strengthening implementation of the arms embargo under the Yemen sanctions regime.
• The UK says Council members will work in the coming months on a list of dual-use items to be covered by sanctions measures.

How the UK says the Yemen sanctions will change

MacIntosh said the UK would work with Security Council members “in the coming months” to agree the list. She described sanctions as a tool to constrain those the UK says threaten Yemen’s peace and security, and to support conditions for a durable and inclusive peace. The statement did not give a timetable beyond that coming-months commitment.

Recent Houthi claims and Saudi interceptions

The vote came as attacks involving Saudi Arabia were again being reported. AFP reported that the Houthis said on 12 November that they had targeted Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline and an oil facility in the Red Sea port city of Yanbu. Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree claimed one operation used a drone against Pumping Station No. 7 and another used a ballistic missile against the Yanbu facility; he said both had succeeded. Those accounts were claims by the group, not independently confirmed results in AFP’s report.

AFP also reported that the coalition backing Yemen’s internationally recognised government said it intercepted two drones in Saudi Arabia on Thursday morning, 12 November. The coalition said it had destroyed two ballistic missiles targeting western Saudi Arabia on Wednesday night, as well as two drones in the south and near Mecca. Saudi civil defence said missile debris fell in Sabouha, about 35 kilometres from Mecca. AFP did not establish whether the intercepted or destroyed weapons were those Saree described.

AFP reported that the East-West pipeline ends at Yanbu and has become more important to Saudi oil exports after Iran blockaded the Strait of Hormuz at the outset of the West Asia war. It also reported that Saudi Arabia had come under regular Houthi fire since fighting resumed in July, including attacks on airports, energy infrastructure, military sites and Riyadh’s financial district. The group has repeatedly denied targeting the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, AFP said.

What it means for Yemenis

The UK statement said more than 22.3 million people in Yemen need humanitarian assistance and protection, and that recent fighting had displaced more than 330,000 people. It did not specify when those figures were measured. The UK linked sanctions to efforts to constrain threats and support conditions for peace, while condemning the Houthis’ continued detention of UN, humanitarian, civil society and diplomatic personnel and calling for their immediate, unconditional release.