January 3, 2024
Permanent Representative Samuel Zbogar called the Houthis’ interference with navigational rights and freedoms over the past weeks “simply unacceptable” as it poses a serious threat to international maritime security and to the movement of food, fuel and critical humanitarian assistance intended to reach those in need worldwide.
The last months of 2023 have proved to be an extremely turbulent and traumatic period in the Middle East.
Regional spillover and escalation from the current devastation in Gaza, Israel and the broader region must be avoided.
Calling for the cessation of all attacks against commercial vessels operating in the region’s crucial waterways, he said: “It should be in no one’s interest to see a further destabilization and spiral of violence in the region — not the people of Gaza, not the people of Israel and not the people of Yemen”.