UN Secretary-General António Guterres strongly condemned on Sunday the Houthi attacks on infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, stressing that targeting Saudi ships was “completely unacceptable” and calling for freedom of navigation to be guaranteed and international law to be respected in straits and maritime passages.
In a television interview, Guterres said the United Nations “strongly condemns” Houthi attacks on infrastructure in the Kingdom. His remarks came after an escalation in recent days, during which Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted a ballistic missile launched by the Houthis towards Riyadh, while the coalition reported further attempts to target civilian sites in Saudi cities. The Houthis also claimed responsibility for attacks targeting facilities in the Kingdom.
Guterres met on Saturday with Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Both condemned Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and the targeting of civilian facilities, warning of the repercussions of the attacks for regional security and stability.
Guterres calls for freedom of navigation to be protected
Regarding maritime passages, the UN secretary-general stressed that freedom of navigation “must be guaranteed”, explaining that states’ sovereignty over maritime straits does not override the principles and rules imposed by international law. The position comes amid tensions in key maritime passages in the region, foremost among them Bab el-Mandeb, the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz.
Guterres has previously affirmed in a UN statement that navigational rights and freedoms are not limited to theoretical principles, but form part of international law and are linked to international security and peace and the continued flow of food, energy and essential goods. He then called for attacks on commercial shipping and civilian infrastructure to stop, and for the provisions of the law of the sea to be upheld.
UN call to advance Gaza peace plan
In June, he renewed the UN position that the two-state solution is the path to a just and lasting peace between Palestinians and Israelis. Guterres also discussed developments in Syria, saying the country had made “significant progress in the recent period”. His remarks came days after the UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs announced that Syria had made “important progress” in its transitional process.
Challenges facing Syria’s transitional phase and reconstruction
At the same time, the UN office pointed to continuing challenges related to institution-building, expanding political participation and achieving transitional justice, alongside recovery and reconstruction. The assessment places the reported progress within a process that still faces multiple political, institutional and economic issues.
In Lebanon, Guterres praised the role of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, saying it had played “a very positive role”. The force is deployed in southern Lebanon under a UN mandate related to monitoring the situation and supporting implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701.
The United Nations consistently stresses the need to respect Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, while UNIFIL continues to carry out its duties in the south under the mandate issued by the Security Council, as the international organisation follows security and political developments in the region.
