US, Saudis Block UN Resolution on Yemen Ceasefire

Much of the hope for keeping the Hodeidah ceasefire in place in Yemen seems to be built around future UN observation, but that might be a long-time coming, as the resolution at the UN Security Council which would give a mandate for such observers is being held up by US and Saudi Arabian opposition.

The current resolution was penned with the support of Britain, and is being pushed heavily by them. It mostly amounts to backing the agreements reached in last week’s UN-brokered talks in Yemen.

The US, however, is mad that the resolution doesn’t single out Iran and blame them for the conflict, and wants the whole thing re-written around that theme. Russia says they’d oppose anything that singles out Iran and doesn’t mention Western nations selling arms to the Saudis throughout the war.

Saudi Arabia was less concerned about that than about text that expressed support for an independent investigation into violations of humanitarian law during the war. The Saudis want to remove any mention of it being an “independent” investigation, in keeping of their long-standing insistence that they handle all of the investigations internally.