Passage Through the Strait of Bab Al-Mandeb

תקציר

The strait of Bab al-Mandeb is of the utmost importance to international trade in general and to the shipping of the littoral states in particular. When the Suez Canal is open, the strait gains in importance for the international community, whereas the closure of the Canal inevitably increases the dependence of the littoral States of the Red Sea on Bab al-Mandeb. There exists no general international treaty for the waterway, and hence it is subject to the general r6gime of international straits, namely, non-suspendable, objectively innocent, passage for all ships of commerce and of war, in time of peace and of status mixtus. If the international community eventually agrees on the expansion of the right of passage through straits, this regime will certainly apply to Bab al-Mandeb. The vulnerability of passage through the strait has been demonstrated by the 1971 Coral Sea incident and by the 1973 blockade. Thereafter (in 1975) Egypt and Israel agreed not to resort to military blockades against each other, and the U.S. recognized Israel's right to passage in and over the Red Sea and the strait. It is essential that a peace settlement in the Middle East should include guarantees for freedom of passage through Bab al-Mandeb. This need has also been recognized by the Security Council in its above mentioned Resolution 242 of 22 November 1967 which inter alia affirmed "the necessity (a) for guaranteeing freedom of navigation through international waterways in the area". It has not been specified in the resolution which waterways it envisaged, but Bab al-Mandeb is certainly included. Freedom of passage through this gateway to the Indian Ocean for ships of all nationalities is indispensable not only for peace but also for the economic and social progress of all the peoples in the area.