Global economy at stake: UN decision on Red Sea ship attacks

When the economy attends, politics retreat.

This is what happened in the recent session of the Security Council, where a decision was issued by an absolute majority calling for an immediate cessation of Houthi attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea.

There was no veto, just abstention from Russia, which objected to some items of the decision and demanded their modification, a request that was rejected. China, Algeria, and Mozambique also abstained.

However, the impact of Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea on the global economy may be the factor that led these countries not to veto the UN decision.

The decision, drafted by the United States and Japan, was adopted by the Council with the approval of 11 members:

- United States
- Japan
- France
- United Kingdom
- Albania
- Brazil
- Ecuador
- Gabon
- Ghana
- Malta
- Switzerland

So, what are the details of the decision, and what does it mean practically?

The decision strongly condemns the attacks carried out by the Houthis - numbering more than twenty - on ships since November 19. It also calls for the immediate release of the vessel "Galaxy Leader" abducted by the Houthis.

It also calls upon all countries to respect the arms embargo imposed on the Iranian-backed Houthis.

Furthermore, the main provision of the decision states the right of UN member states to defend their ships from attacks.

Through this provision, the United States seeks to legitimize the action of the "Prosperity Guardian," a multinational naval force led by the US, which defends commercial ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden from Houthi attacks.

This comes in the wake of Iran moving a warship to the Red Sea earlier this month.

As a whole, the decision escalates the language to urge the Houthis to stop their attacks.

However, in the first response from the Houthis, the head of the Islamist group's supreme revolutionary committee, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, announced that the decision adopted was a political game and that the United States was the one violating international law.