[News] Yemen: ‘Regional turmoil continues to erode prospects for peace,’ Security Council hears

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Yemen continues to be one of the world’s most food-insecure countries with 17 million going hungry, according to UN aid coordination office, OCHA.

Despite a fragile but long-lasting ceasefire, regional turmoil continues to erode prospects for peace and stability. Without a political solution, “current cycles of violence – local and regional – along with economic devolution and endemic humanitarian need, will persist,” Ramesh Rajasingham, Director of OCHA’s Coordination Division, told ambassadors.

However, hopes for a lasting peace deal remain: “Reaching a sustainable solution to the situation in Yemen is not only possible, it is essential,” said Special Envoy Grundberg.Although frontlines have barely shifted, July saw the Houthi’s fortify their positions, including around Hudaydah City, and launch a significant assault on Government forces in Sa’adah Governorate – developments Mr. Grundberg told the Security Council were “concerning.”

Since October 2023, the Houthis have been targeting Israel as well as commercial ships in the Red Sea, in solidarity with the Palestinian cause in Gaza.

In the past month, the Houthis have continued missile exchanges with Israel, further destabilising Yemen and commerce in the region.

“For Yemen to have a real chance for peace, it must be protected from being further drawn into the ongoing regional turmoil emanating out of the war in Gaza,” Mr. Grundberg said, calling for and end to Houthi strikes against civilian ships in the Red Sea.

In the conflict at home, “the parties need to take actions that build trust and good faith,” he said, as the UN aims to establish a path for further talks.

“Unfortunately, we have seen the opposite in the last month with unilateral and escalatory decisions that risk deepening divisions within institutions and state structures,” said Mr. Grundberg.

 

https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/08/1165634