UN official warns Houthi maritime blockade risks humanitarian and peacekeeping shipments

During the press briefing a reporter, Gabriel, asked whether the secretary‑general calls on the Houthis to reverse an announced maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia.

The agency official replied: "Yes. I mean, I think you may have been lulled into into a certain sense when I was reading off the various notes, but I did, I did speak to that, expressed our concern about the new announcement, and, call for the fulfillment full, implementation of the relevant Security Council resolutions, which call on the Houthis to stop, kinetic activity, in that area." The official added that there "needs to be, full freedom of navigation."

On the practical consequences, the official warned the blockade would be "another choke point" and said: "it will, of course, impact, the flow of UN goods that are shipped, notably humanitarian goods and and elements for peacekeeping." He also said the move would have "a negative impact on global commerce, on the trade in energy, and and just commerce as a whole." The official referred to previous disruptions in the Red Sea and said the UN does not want to see a return to that situation.

Gabriel asked specifically about how the blockade could affect the transport of humanitarian goods; the official said the impact could extend to both humanitarian supplies and peacekeeping logistics, and reiterated calls for dialogue and diplomacy to prevent wider escalation.

The exchange underlined UN concern that threats to maritime routes could complicate logistics for aid delivery and increase costs and delays for humanitarian and peacekeeping operations.