A unanimous United Nations Security Council (UNSC) this week renewed the mandate of the world body’s mission in support of the Hudaydah Agreement as regional tensions rise and international concerns mount over Houthi rebel attacks on Red Sea shipping.
The UN Mission to support the Hudaydah Agreement (UNMHA) will run until at least 28 January next year and, according to the UN, emphasising the mission’s critical role in maintaining fragile stability amid signs of renewed military escalation and deepening humanitarian need.
The resolution – 2786 (2025) – reaffirms Security Council support for the 2018 Stockholm Agreement, including a ceasefire in the Houthi-controlled port city Hudaydah – and demilitarisation of its docks, where the majority of Yemen imports and aid shipments transit.
The mandate extension signals a growing debate over the mission’s future, requesting Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to submit a review by November to enhance co-ordination and coherence of UN operations, “bearing in mind challenges” directly impeding NMHA’s capacity to deliver.
“The UNSC … expresses its intention to review the full range of options for the UNMHA mandate, including assessing the future viability and sunsetting of the mission and make any necessary adjustments to gain efficiencies and reduce costs or otherwise, as may be required to UN operations in Hudaydah by developments on the ground, including inter alia a durable nationwide ceasefire,” the resolution notes.
UNMHA was established in 2019 to support implementation of the Stockholm Agreement between the Government of Yemen and Ansar Allah (as the Houthis are formally known), which sought to prevent major conflict over the region.
The mission monitors the ceasefire, facilitates redeployments and supports de-escalation through liaison mechanisms between the parties.
The UN has it further “while the military situation on the ground remains tenuously stable, tensions are mounting on multiple fronts”.
A June Guterres letter to the 15-member SC, informs of a growing number of ceasefire violations – averaging 100 plus per day between June 2024 and May 2025 – highlighting the region’s “fragile state”.
Government-aligned forces fortified positions in anticipation of a possible offensive on the city, while Houthi units increased infiltration attempts and public mobilisation, including military-style youth camps in areas under their control.
Compounding these developments, Houthi attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea intensify. On 8 July, the commercial vessel Eternity C was sunk, killing several crew members and leaving others missing. This followed the sinking of the Magic Seas two days earlier.
In a statement, UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg condemned the attacks calling them violations of international maritime law and warning they risked serious environmental and geopolitical fallout.
He called on Ansar Allah to cease attacks that risk escalating tensions in and around Yemen.
“[He urges them] to build on cessation of hostilities with the United States (US) in the Red Sea and provide durable guarantees to the region and the wider international community, ensuring the safety of all those using this critical waterway,” the Grundberg statement reads in part.
In Hudaydah UNMHA faces significant constraints with the Guterres June letter detailing restrictions by Houthi authorities on UN patrols to the critical Red Sea ports Hudaydah, Salif and Ras Issa.
Damage from repeated air strikes, including by the US and Israel in response to Houthi attacks, left key port infrastructure partially inoperable, disrupting fuel, food and medical imports.
As Hudaydah is responsible for 70% of Yemen’s commercial imports and 80% of humanitarian deliveries, the stakes are high, the UN points out.
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