Aden- 

Today, the Security Council will hold its monthly open briefing and closed consultations on Yemen. UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg will brief. The new Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Thomas Fletcher, who was appointed on 9 October, is expected to deliver his first briefing to the Council. A civil society representative is also expected to brief.

The briefers and some Council members are likely to emphasise the importance of sustaining international attention on Yemen amid continued instability and heightened tensions in the Middle East—including the fallout from the Israel-Hamas war, the fragility of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon, and the recent ousting of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria. In this regard, they may call for continued support for the Special Envoy’s mediation efforts as well as funding for humanitarian operations in Yemen.

Tomorrow’s session is the Council’s last scheduled meeting on Yemen for 2024. As such, many speakers are expected to provide a wider overview of the situation in the country in the past year, with some also offering a forward-looking outlook for 2025. In addition to including Fletcher’s first briefing to the Council, the meeting is likely to feature the last interventions on the file from Ecuador, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, and Switzerland, who will finish their two-year Council terms in the end of December.

Almost a year has passed since Grundberg announced on 23 December 2023 that the Yemeni government and the Houthi rebel group committed to a set of measures to implement a nation-wide ceasefire, improve living conditions in Yemen, and engage in preparations for the resumption of an inclusive political process under UN auspices. At the time, the Special Envoy conveyed his intention to develop a UN roadmap for an inter-Yemeni political process that would operationalise the commitments. Tomorrow, several Council members are expected to lament the lack of progress towards implementing those commitments. Some speakers might argue that regional tensions and the continued Houthi attacks in the Red Sea have hampered this process by limiting the space for UN mediation. Other members might contend that the parties are willing to sign a political roadmap and question the link between the regional escalation and the internal political process.

Grundberg might note that although the front lines in Yemen remain relatively calm there is a continued risk of escalation. He may condemn recent attacks that have affected civilians, including a 1 December drone attack on a market in the village of Barmia in the Taiz governorate, which reportedly killed six people and injured eight others. The Yemeni government has blamed the Houthis for carrying out the assault—an accusation which the group has neither confirmed or denied—and has called on the UN to condemn the attack. Tomorrow, Grundberg and several Council members are likely to emphasise the need to protect civilians and call on the sides to avoid escalation and to recommit to dialogue and implementation of the pledges made one year ago. Some members might mention that children are disproportionally affected by the conflict and may highlight that measures relating to the protection of children can serve as an early confidence-building measure in peace negotiations.

Grundberg and several Council members may stress the need for an inclusive political process. Speaking at a feminist summit in Aden on 3 December, Deputy Head of Mission for the Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen Sarhad Fatah emphasised that “it is essential for all segments of society, especially underrepresented groups like women, to have a voice in shaping Yemen’s political future”. Fatah mentioned in this regard the bottom-up consultations series organised by the Office of the Special Envoy and UN Women, adding that preparations are underway for more such consultations that are aimed at promoting “a grassroots vision for an inclusive peace process in Yemen”. He called on the Yemeni authorities and parties to commit to increasing women’s participation in all stages of peacebuilding, in line with resolution 1325 of 31 October 2000. Several interventions at tomorrow’s meeting may echo these messages. UNSC