The Red Sea crisis started on 19 October 2023 when Yemen’s Houthi movement began a series of attacks, targeting Southern Israel and the ships in the Red Sea, which it asserted were linked to Israel. However, some vessels with no apparent connection to Israel were also targeted. Houthi militants have also launched missiles on merchant vessels of different countries in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen, in the Bab-el-Mandeb strait, a chokepoint of the global economy. This resulted in hundreds of cargo ships and tankers being rerouted around the southern tip of Africa to avoid the raids in the Red Sea.

We strongly condemn the Houthi aggression in the Red Sea. It is a direct threat to global shipping.

We are deeply concerned with the aggravating situation in the Red Sea, and The Houthis have declared they would target ships regardless of whether the vessel possessed any military targets, which would form a war crime. 

We also reported that the detention of captured crews could be regarded as hostage-taking if they are detained to force a third party to do or abstain from any act as a prerequisite for the hostage’s release or safety. It would be a violation of international humanitarian law and, thus, a war crime as well. 

We urge the militants to “end their attacks on civilians caught in the crosshairs of their declared war. Further, aggression could raise the risk of regional conflict, including with Iran, which has sent its warship into the sea. Tension must be escalated. We urge the relevant parties to maintain calm and exercise restraint to stop the conflict from expanding.