What happened
At its 10244th meeting on 15 October the Security Council adopted a presidential statement, issued as S/PRST/2026/4. It condemns the strikes of 10 and 11 October on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, which by the Council's figures killed 13 people and wounded more than 300, and other strikes on airports and Saudi Aramco facilities. It condemns in the strongest terms Houthi attacks and threats against commercial shipping in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab, expresses solidarity with Saudi Arabia and affirms its inherent right to self-defence under international law. It stresses full implementation of resolution 2216 (2015) and the targeted arms embargo, recalls the Council's press statements of 7 August and 18 September, and backs the Special Envoy's efforts toward a negotiated, Yemeni-led settlement.
A CONSENSUS ACT ON THE COUNCIL'S RECORD, AND IT CREATES NOTHING. Until 15 October the Council had answered the Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia with press statements (7 August and 18 September). A presidential statement is adopted by consensus and stands on the Council's record, so every member, permanent members included, associated itself with the affirmation of Saudi Arabia's right of self-defence. It is not a resolution. It imposes no measure, establishes no mechanism and authorises no use of force: affirming an inherent right recognises a right that exists independently of the Council, and confers nothing new. It does not address the Saudi-led campaign in Yemen or any party's conduct in it. Its precedent is resolution 2817 of March, which affirmed the Gulf states' right of self-defence against Iran in a resolution; this statement makes the equivalent affirmation, in a weaker instrument, against a non-state party. The Council's casualty figures for Riyadh differ from the Saudi accounts the module carries for each attack, which are not summed.
Confidence: High
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