UN Security Council Set to Vote on Arms Embargo for Yemen’s Houthis

On Monday, the UN Security Council is scheduled to vote on a UAE proposal for an arms embargo on Yemen’s Houthis. This has been pushed because as the war has escalated in recent months, the Houthis have launched cross-border attacks on UAE and Saudi Arabia.

It’s not clear how the vote will shape up, with expected Western support but no clear position taken by Russia or China, either of whom could veto it. The UAE’s narrative leans heavily on the idea that Iran is providing the arms to the Houthis.

Diplomats are also trying to defend the matter as safe, claiming that with no asset freezes directly included that it should have no impact on aid shipments. Since the Saudis use arms as a pretext to stop aid ships literally all the time, it’s not clear that will really be true.

This is coming amid US debate on listing the Houthis as terrorists, something which already was having a very negative impact on aid. This was the main reason the US dropped the terror label in 2021, though the UAE is lobbying heavily for its restoration.