Published on: 2026-08-13
Source: United Nations – Объединенные Нации –
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August 13, 2026 Peace and Security
Open debates on Yemen were held in the UN Security Council on Thursday, where the escalation of bloody clashes and Houthi missile strikes on commercial vessels could threaten the 2022 ceasefire and draw the country into a wider regional confrontation.
“Today Yemen faces the highest risk of a return to large-scale conflict – more serious than at any point since the ceasefire brokered by the UN in 2022,” Hans Grundberg, the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, said while speaking at the meeting.
Military activity on the front line – including recent attacks by the Ansar Allah movement, better known as the Houthis – is intensifying, he noted. Regional trade and energy supplies are already under colossal pressure due to the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz.
“Attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden […] threaten to drag Yemen into a wider regional confrontation,” Grundberg said.
The escalating tension threatens the fragile ceasefire achieved with the support of the UN in April 2022. It led to a sharp reduction in violence and an improvement in the humanitarian situation in the country.
“I am convinced that an agreed diplomatic solution [to the current situation] is still possible,” Grundberg emphasized. He spoke about his work with the parties of the Yemeni conflict aimed at stopping the political and economic escalation and moving towards a ceasefire.
Constant engagement with the UN, aimed at consolidating the progress made and rebooting the inclusive political process under the leadership of the Yemenis themselves, is crucial, the Special Envoy emphasized.
“Four years of relative calm can be undone in a few weeks of escalation,” he said. “I appeal to all members of the Security Council who have influence over the parties to use it to take Yemen off the battlefield and bring it back to the negotiating table.”
Humanitarian situation
“I would like to report positive developments, but the trajectory of the humanitarian crisis remains unchanged,” said Tom Fletcher, Deputy Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, speaking at the meeting.
“More than 10 years after the conflict began, millions of Yemenis face a difficult choice every day: food or medicine, education or work, survival or fleeing,” he said.
According to Fletcher, the situation of Yemeni women and girls is particularly alarming: almost 11 million of them are in need of humanitarian aid. More than half of the country’s population suffers from acute food shortages, and six million people—the highest number in the world—are on the brink of famine.
“We know that humanitarian aid saves lives,” emphasized the Deputy Secretary-General. At the same time, access to the sites for humanitarian workers often remains closed, and the fundraising plan has only been fulfilled by 20 percent. From the Central Emergency Response Fund, the first 10 million dollars have been allocated to ensure food security, but according to him, this is a “temporary measure, not a solution.”
Fletcher called on donors to provide the necessary funding, all parties to the conflict to protect the civilian population, and the Security Council not to lose interest in what is happening in Yemen.
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