The United Nations Security Council on Friday extended the targeted sanctions on the Houthi rebels until November 14, 2026, including a freezing of assets and travel bans currently in place against about 10 people, most of them high-ranking Houthi officials.
In a resolution adopted in a 13-0 vote, with permanent members China and Russia abstaining the Security Council called on the panel of experts tasked with monitoring the application of the embargo on the Houthi rebels to present a report to the Council by mid-April with recommendations on the sale and transfer to Yemen of "dual-use components and precursor chemicals" that could fall into Houthi hands.
Member states were asked to "increase efforts to combat the smuggling of weapons and components via land and sea routes, to ensure implementation of the targeted arms embargo."
Council members also want the report to offer advice on improving information sharing on vessels suspected of carrying arms in violation of existing sanctions.
"The resolution will support the council's ability to monitor and therefore deter violations of the arms embargo," Britain's interim UN envoy James Kariuki said.
But several member states, notably the United States and France, lamented that the Council had not gone farther.
"We regret that the text adopted was not more ambitious and does not reflect the deterioration of the situation in Yemen over the past year," said France's deputy envoy Jay Dharmadhikari.
But veto-wielding China and Russia kept the council from further strengthening the sanctions.