Following the Stockholm Agreement, reached in Sweden in December 2018, between the Government of Yemen and the Houthis under the auspices of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, the Security Council in its resolution 2451 (2018) authorized the establishment and deployment, for an initial period of 30 days, of an advance team to begin monitoring and to support the immediate implementation of the ceasefire and redeployment of forces from the city of Hudaydah and the ports of Hudaydah, Salif and Ra’s Isa.
By the same resolution, the Security Council requested the Secretary-General to submit proposals before 31 December 2018 on how the United Nations would fully support the implementation of the Stockholm Agreement, including substantive monitoring of the ceasefire and the redeployment of forces. It also mandated the United Nations to chair the Redeployment Coordination Committee (RCC) set up to oversee the ceasefire and the redeployment of forces. On 16 January 2019, the Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2452 (2019) authorizing the establishment of a Special Political Mission, the United Nations Mission to support the Hudaydah Agreement (UNMHA).
UNMHA brings together civilian, military and police personnel, to support the Yemeni parties in delivering their obligations under the Stockholm Agreement, in particular the Agreement on the City of Hudaydah and the Ports of Hudaydah, Salif and Ra's Isa (Hudaydah Agreement). Since its establishment, the Mission has focused on supporting the parties in the implementation of the Agreement and has aimed to establish an appropriate footprint in a highly challenging operational environment to ensure the discharge of its mandate.
Despite the challenging political and military landscape, UNMHA has continued to adjust its approach and explore different ways to maintain momentum towards the full implementation of the Hudaydah Agreement. It has focused its efforts on supporting the parties to secure a sustained resumption of the RCC, the Hudaydah Agreement’s core implementation and coordination mechanism. These efforts centered on re-establishing dialogue between the parties through seeking a joint meeting; addressing issues of concern to both parties; and enabling the Mission’s equal access to both sides of the front line in Hudaydah Governorate.
UNMHA remains closely engaged with United Nations entities and international and local non-governmental organizations operating in Hudaydah governorate, leveraging its position to facilitate and increase operational space for other actors as possible. In addition, the Mission collaborates with other partners who are instrumental to the implementation of the Hudaydah Agreement, namely the Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, the United Nations Country Team and the United Nations Verification and Inspection Mechanism (UNVIM).
UNMHA Mandate
The Security Council most recently extended the mandate of UNMHA until 14 July 2024 in its resolution 2691 (2023):
- To lead, and support the functioning of, the Redeployment Coordination Committee (RCC), assisted by a secretariat staffed by UN personnel, to oversee the governorate-wide ceasefire, redeployment of forces, and mine action operations;
- To monitor compliance of the parties to the ceasefire in Hudaydah governorate and the mutual redeployment of forces from the city of Hudaydah and the ports of Hudaydah, Salif and Ra’s Isa;
- To work with the parties so that security of the city of Hudaydah and the ports of Hudaydah, Salif and Ra’s Isa is assured by local security forces in accordance with the Yemeni law, and;
- To facilitate and coordinate UN support to assist the parties to fully implement the Hudaydah Agreement.
In addition, the Council requested that the Secretary-General present a further review of UNMHA at least one month before its mandate is due to expire.