UNSC Extends Reporting Requirement On Houthi Attacks Against Commercial Vessels In Red Sea

UNITED NATIONS, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th Jul, 2025) With Pakistan supporting, the United Nations Security Council has adopted a resolution that extends by six months the requirement for the UN Secretary-General to provide monthly reports on attacks by Yemen's Houthis against ships in the Red Sea.

Adopting resolution 2787 (2025) with a vote of 12 in favour to none against, with 3 abstentions (Algeria, China & Russia), the 15-member Council extended the reporting request as the Houthis -- who control a significant portion of Yemen, including the capital city, Sanaa -- have defied its previous demands to immediately halt all such attacks.

The reporting obligation was established by the adoption of Resolution 2722 in January 2024, which was moved in response to the repeated attacks on commercial shipping. The Houthis have vowed to continue targeting vessels until Israel ends its war in Gaza.

Tuesday's resolution was co-sponsored by the United States and Greece.

In explaining his vote, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, permanent representative of Pakistan, which holds the Council Presidency for July, having voted in favour of resolution 2787 (2025) and speaking in his national capacity, reaffirmed “our principled and longstanding commitment” to upholding maritime security and unequivocally condemning attacks on all commercial shipping.

The Pakistani envoy denounced the recent assaults on vessels in the Red Sea and called for the immediate and unconditional release of all detained crew members.

In the current context, the extension of the reporting mandate is a necessary and timely step.

“We underscore the strategic significance of the Red Sea maritime corridor — not only as a critical artery for global trade, but also as a vital channel for humanitarian aid to Yemen,” Ambassador Asim Iftikhar said.

All attacks on merchant and commercial vessels navigating the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden must cease immediately and permanently, in full compliance with international law.

"The international community’s response to the situation must also conform fully with international law," the Pakistani envoy added.

"At the same time," he added, "it is imperative to address the underlying root causes of regional instability and to actively support diplomatic efforts toward de-escalation.

"Preventing further regional spillover of the conflict and its destabilizing consequences is essential—not only to curb attacks on commercial shipping, but also to safeguard broader regional peace and security.

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Acting U.S. Ambassador Dorothy Shea said the resolution recognizes the need for continued vigilance “against the Houthi terrorist threat.”

She cited the two latest attacks by Houthis against civilian cargo vessels, the MV Magic Seas and the MV Eternity C, which caused both vessels to sink and led to the loss of innocent seafarers and saw crew members taken hostage.

“The United States strongly condemns these unprovoked terrorist attacks, which demonstrate the threat that the Houthis pose to freedom of navigation and to regional economic and maritime security,” Shea said, reiterating the council’s demand for an immediate halt to Houthi attacks and the release of all crew members kidnapped from the Eternity C.

Russia’s deputy U.N. ambassador Dmitry Polyansky said Moscow abstained because language in the previous resolution demanding a halt to Houthi attacks was arbitrarily interpreted to justify “the use of force affecting the territory of the sovereign state of Yemen.”

“We stand convinced that any steps aimed at stabilizing the situation in Yemen and around Yemen should be taken in political and diplomatic ways,” he said.

China’s deputy U.N. ambassador Geng Shuang said his country abstained because “certain countries took military action against Yemen, which seriously impacted the Yemeni peace process and exacerbated tensions in the Red Sea.”

Shuang called tensions in the Red Sea “a major manifestation of the spillover from the Gaza conflict.” Russia’s Polyansky also stressed the link between normalizing the situation in the Red Sea and the need for a ceasefire in Gaza and release of all hostages.

Algeria’s deputy U.N. ambassador Toufik Koudri, expressed regret the Yemen resolution demanding an immediate halt to Houthi attacks made no mention of the Gaza war, which he called “one of the catalytic factors.”

“The Security Council cannot disregard the clear nexus between the attacks in the Red Sea and the aggression against the Palestinian people in Gaza and the deep feelings that resulted from the brutal massacres committed against innocent civilians,” he said.