Red Sea Attacks: UN Should Play Role To Avert WW3 Possibility
The ongoing attacks by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea, which pose a growing danger to international trade and regional security as Israel and Palestinian militants continue their fierce battle in Gaza, were discussed in the UN Security Council’s first open meeting. According to UN Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari, “no cause or grievance” could be used as an excuse for the Houthis to keep attacking the Red Sea freedom of navigation. All events that start in regions under Houthi control “must stop.” He urged “all concerned parties” in the surrounding area to defuse the situation and prevent tensions and threats from getting worse. Demanded that traffic resume normally in order to prevent Yemen from being “dragged into a regional conflagration.”
Rising Tensions in the Red Sea
In light of the recent attacks on the MSC United and Maersk Hangzhou in late December 2023, which pose a threat to maritime safety in the Red Sea, senior UN representatives informed the Security Council about the critical need to protect international supply chains and prevent escalating regional tensions.
Khiari underlined that occurrences of this nature that originate in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen must cease, and he called for the prompt release of the Galaxy Leader and its crew, who were taken hostage by the Houthis on November 19, 2023. He emphasized, “No cause or grievance can justify continuation of these attacks against the freedom of navigation,” and he urged all sides to defuse the situation so that trade across the Red Sea may resume normally and Yemen is not drawn into a regional conflict.
Navigating Troubled Waters
Arsenio Dominguez, the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), also called for a de-escalation, stressing the significance of safeguarding supply chain stability, freedom of passage, and seafarer safety. About eighteen shipping corporations have already chosen to divert their vessels around South Africa in order to lower hazards. The shipping channel via the Red Sea accounts for fifteen percent of world commerce.
He pointed out that this necessitates ten extra days of travel, which will raise freight costs and harm trade. This month, France is the presidency of the Council, and its Permanent Representative, Nicolas de Rivière, stated that the Houthis and those who provide them with training and support are largely to blame for the escalation of hostilities in the region and for maintaining international stability through their use of force.
The clause effectively supported Operation Prosperity Guardian, a multinational naval group headed by the United States that has been protecting commercial ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden from drone and Houthi missile assaults.
Regional Stakeholders And Global Implications
The Russian Federation delegate cited Israel’s continuing deadly operation in Gaza and said, “What is happening in the Red Sea is a direct projection of the violence in Gaza.” He denounced the United States for concealing Israel’s activities and blocking the passage of a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire, claiming that this incites discontent among the Arab population, which can occasionally manifest in deadly ways like the activities of Ansar Allah in the Red Sea.
The worst disruption to global trade in decades has resulted from two months of missile, drone, and hijacking strikes against civilian ships in the Red Sea, driving up expenses for shippers as far afield as Asia and North America. Fears of more widespread economic consequences are being stoked by the disruption’s spread. One of the busiest shipping channels in the world, the Red Sea provides an alternative to the route around the Cape of Good Hope due to its link to the Suez Canal. It is a vital conduit, vital to preserving the political and economic stability of many nations.
In a nutshell, the US and its allies have launched many rounds of retaliatory attacks, and a multinational naval operation to monitor the waterways hasn’t prevented the Houthi terrorist assaults that have followed the commencement of the Israel-Hamas conflict. Shipping firms are avoiding a canal that typically handles 12% of global seaborne trade because seamen are demanding double pay and insurance premiums are soaring. More than 500 container ships that would have traveled from the Red Sea to the Suez Canal, transporting goods ranging from toys and clothes to auto components, are now extending their journeys by two weeks in order to round the southernmost point of Africa, the Cape of Good Hope. That represents over 25% of the global capacity for shipping containers, according to the digital logistics platform.
