Sanaa sends international letter about oil spill in Red Sea
SANAA, April 26 (YPA) – Sanaa-based Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jamal Amer, affirmed on Saturday that the US aggression on Yemen’s Ras Isa Port is a blatant violation of the Yemeni sovereignty and the United Nations Charter, and also a grave breach of the principles and rules of international humanitarian and environmental law.
This came in a letter sent to the President of the United Nations General Assembly, the President of the Security Council for April 2025, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization, and the Executive Director of the United Nations Development Program, regarding the war crime the US aggression committed in Ras Isa Port.
The letter addressed the repercussions of the full-fledged war crime committed by the United States of America, which directly targeted the Ras Issa oil port in Hodeida and deliberately struck the paramedics, despite the fact that it is a vital facility of a purely civilian and economic nature.
It pointed out that this attack completely destroyed the civilian infrastructure of Ras Isa Port, and the US aggression caused a marine environmental disaster, represented by the leakage of massive quantities of petroleum products into the territorial waters of the Red Sea and neighboring areas.
The minister’s letter noted that this spill may threaten to destroy fragile marine ecosystems, including coral reefs and fish spawning grounds, eradicate the region’s unique biodiversity, pollute the coastline, and devastate the livelihoods of thousands of citizens who depend on the sea for their daily lives, particularly in the fishing sector.
The letter held full international responsibility for the war crime in the port of Ras Isa, the attack and its disastrous consequences. This responsibility is based on its flagrant violation of multiple international obligations stemming from international treaties and customary international law, including: violations of international humanitarian law (the law of armed conflict).
“According to which the US aggression on the port of Ras Isa is considered a violation of the basic principles governing the conduct of hostilities, as well as violations of international environmental law, given that the US aggression on the port of Ras Isa went beyond being a mere hostile act, to represent a direct attack on the marine environment protected under international law,” minister’s letter added.
Minister Amer emphasized that protecting international peace and security, ensuring respect for international law, and preserving the global environment is not the responsibility of a single country, but rather a collective responsibility that falls on the entire international community, represented by the United Nations.
He called on the United Nations General Assembly, the Security Council, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization, and the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, to assume their responsibilities by taking decisive and urgent measures in condemning the US aggression on the civilian oil port of Ras Isa, which caused an environmental disaster and a serious violation of international law.
The minister also called on the urgent formation and dispatch of an independent international investigation committee to investigate the facts surrounding the US aggression, document the violations of international humanitarian and environmental law, and accurately and objectively determine the extent of environmental and economic damage.
Mr. Amer concluded the letter by emphasizing that Yemen places the humanitarian and environmental disaster resulting from the oil spill and its grave consequences before the conscience of the international community, emphasizing the urgent need for a unified, strong, and effective international response.
He added that failure to confront American bullying and its flagrant violations will undermine the foundations of the international legal system, threaten regional and international peace and security, and cause irreparable damage to our shared marine environment.
AA