UN Security Council: Algeria Calls For Avoiding Escalation in the Red Sea

The Permanent Representative of Algeria to the United Nations in New York, Ambassador Amar Bendjama, Algeria’s permanent representative to the UN, Amar Bendjama, warned against the “emergence of a regional conflict with uncontrollable consequences” in the Red Sea and called for “avoiding any measure likely to aggravate tension in Yemen and undermining the great efforts made by the UN special envoy in the region”.

In his intervention before the United Nations Security Council, which is Algeria’s first statement as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council – during a briefing on the developments in the Red Sea – Bendjama explained that “the recent risks of escalation in the Red Sea mark the current regional context” and that “it must be analyzed within a comprehensive regional framework, as the region is currently facing a difficult phase in which instability prevails and the possibility of the conflict spreading regionally at any moment,” stressing “the importance of exercising restraint and avoiding escalation of tensions to prevent the outbreak of any regional conflict whose consequences cannot be controlled.”

The Algerian diplomat also called for “avoiding any measures likely to aggravate the tension in Yemen itself and to undermine the great efforts made by the UN special envoy, who received the support of local and regional parties”.

Furthermore, Algeria’s permanent representative to the UN mentioned the creation of the Council of Gulf and African States on the coast of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden as a “framework in the service of security and economic interests in this strategic maritime region”, pointing out in this context that “any joint efforts in which the concerned coastal states do not actively participate will not be sufficient and will not achieve desired results”.

After underlining Algeria’s commitment to maintaining international peace and security, Bendjama declared that “the coastal States are the first responsible for maritime security in the Red Sea”, warning that “every collective effort which does not count on the active participation of these States is doomed to failure”.

He estimated that these developments in the Red Sea “have major consequences for the economic and maritime security of the region”, adding that “the Red Sea constitutes a critical corridor for global trade and is responsible for approximately 15% of maritime activities worldwide, and protects maritime navigation in the region”.

To this end, he called for “addressing the root causes that hinder maritime security is essential and requires an understanding of the geographical and historical reality to achieve a global response.”