The Security Council Approves Final Extension of Support Mission for the Yemeni Hudaydah Agreement

SadaNews - The United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2813 for the final extension of the mandate of the United Nations Mission to Support the Hudaydah Agreement in Yemen until March 31, with the support of 13 members and the abstention of Russia and China from voting.

The United Nations stated that the resolution, proposed by the UK, requests the Secretary-General of the United Nations to prepare - in consultation with the Yemeni parties - a transition and termination plan for the mission to begin transferring its remaining tasks to the office of the Special Envoy of the United Nations to Yemen, and for the organized and safe withdrawal of its personnel and assets.

It explained that the mission, known as (UNMHA), has worked since its establishment in 2019 to support the implementation of the Hudaydah Agreement related to the city and its ports of Salif and Ras Issa, as stated in the Stockholm Agreement signed between the Yemeni government and the Houthi group on December 13, 2018.

Diverging Positions

The UK's representative, Archie Young, welcomed the resolution, expressing his country's aspiration for an organized and sustainable transition of the mission's responsibilities and remaining tasks to the office of the UN Special Envoy to Yemen.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Permanent Representative of the United States to the UN, Ambassador Tammy Bruce, commended the Security Council's acknowledgment of the need to end the UN mission in Hudaydah, noting that Houthi obstruction has stripped it of its purpose, and it should be closed.

Conversely, the Deputy Russian Ambassador to the UN, Anna Evstigneeva, stated that the mission is also an important element for building trust between the warring parties, indicating that terminating one of the few remaining aspects of the UN presence in the country is unlikely to facilitate the Council's efforts in creating conditions for a comprehensive Yemeni dialogue.

For his part, the Chinese Ambassador to the UN, Fu Cong, urged the Security Council to closely consider the situation in Hudaydah to avoid what he described as a hasty withdrawal that could destabilize the volatile situation and ignite a new conflict.

He noted that the mission has maintained communication with both sides of the conflict over the past seven years, actively monitored the ceasefire, and conducted humanitarian activities.

UNMHA's Tasks

UNMHA was established in January 2019 under Security Council Resolution 2452, shortly after the signing of the Stockholm Agreement which resulted in the Yemeni government and the Houthis agreeing to a ceasefire in Hudaydah after violent confrontations between the two sides.

The Stockholm Agreement included a deal for the redeployment of both parties' forces, disarmament of the coastal city of Hudaydah, as well as a mechanism for prisoner exchanges, and an understanding to de-escalate fighting in Taiz and open its roads (southwest).

In October 2019, the United Nations deployed 5 points to monitor the ceasefire in the Al-Khamri area and the Salah city (north), the Victory Arch (southeast), in the Al-Manzar area (south), and City Max (east of Hudaydah).

The implementation of many provisions of this agreement has stalled, amid mutual accusations between the Yemeni government and the Houthi group regarding obstructing progress in the agreement's path.

Source: United Nations