Years of war have left more than two-thirds of the population – 21 million people – “in dire need of food, water and life-saving aid,” 26 relief organizations reported this month, expressing “deep concern about the humanitarian impacts of the recent war.” Military escalation.
“We urge all actors to prioritize diplomatic channels over military options to calm the crisis and protect progress in peace efforts,” groups including CARE, the International Rescue Committee and Save the Children wrote.
One major concern is the Biden administration's decision this month to return the Houthis to the US list of terrorist organizations — an attempt to isolate the group that aid workers warn could complicate efforts to provide relief in an already fragile humanitarian landscape.
Another question is whether the Houthis will allow relief organizations to continue working in areas they control, given the militants' recent history of imposing severe restrictions on such groups.
On January 20, the Houthis issued a letter saying that American and British citizens working for the United Nations and other international relief organizations should be prepared to leave Yemen within 30 days, according to a copy the Houthi-run ministry shared with The Washington Post. the information.
Yemen suffers from donor fatigue and competition for aid funds with Ukraine and Gaza. The country's humanitarian response plan for 2023 is only 39 percent funded, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
In December, the World Food Program announced that it had temporarily halted distribution in Houthi-controlled areas due to “limited” funding from donors and a failure to resolve a long-standing dispute over reducing the number of Yemenis it serves. It was a devastating blow in a country with one of the highest rates of malnutrition in the world.
“The situation was already very difficult,” said Bushra Al-Dakhina, area director and humanitarian coordinator at CARE Yemen.
“this [U.S.] She said that the classification adds another layer of challenges to CARE and all other humanitarian actors working in Yemen.
The Iran-aligned Houthi group began attacking commercial ships in the Red Sea in November in a campaign they said was aimed at ending Israel's military offensive in Gaza. The attacks have prompted shipping companies to avoid the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, the waterways that connect Asia to Europe and the Americas, making passages longer and more expensive.
The United States and Britain began launching air strikes against the militant group earlier this month, a measure they say is aimed at deterring naval attacks.
Violence so far, including air strikes on Houthi military facilities, has been limited compared to the carnage that occurred during the brutal civil conflict that began in 2014, when fighting between Yemeni factions and airstrikes by the Saudi-led military coalition destroyed cities and towns.
A fragile ceasefire has held over the past two years, but the country remains divided between the Houthi-controlled north, and the south, which is headed by an internationally recognized government.
The Houthis pledged to continue their naval attacks until the Israeli blockade on Gaza is lifted. In an escalation on Friday, they fired a ballistic missile at the US destroyer USS Carney, which is patrolling the Red Sea, according to US Central Command. Central Command said Carney shot down the missile.
President Biden admitted this month that US-led air strikes had not been successful as a deterrent. Will they stop the Houthis? No, he said: Will they continue? Yes.”
The United States and its allies say they are waging a targeted campaign that limits harm to civilians. “But it is a struggle,” said one aid official, who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive situation. “There is only so much dilution that can happen.”
Aid groups have struggled for years to meet Yemen's massive needs. They have played a vital role in tackling a long-standing nutrition crisis that has particularly affected young people: at least 2.2 million children under the age of five suffer from acute malnutrition.
They did so while navigating the demands of two opposing ruling powers. They say they are now trying to understand the impact the US designation might have on their business, which requires frequent interactions with local officials and local businesses that may be subject to sanctions.
The administration announced on January 17 that it would designate the Houthis as “Specially Designated Global Terrorists,” making it illegal for Americans or people in the United States to do business with them — in an effort to keep the group out of the global financial system. . The administration removed the Houthis from the list in 2021 due to concerns about aid.
Some transactions including food, medicine, fuel, money transfers and other needs are exempt. However, aid groups fear this designation will discourage trade and the private sector and worsen conditions for those they serve.
“There are a lot of concerns about how this will impact the humanitarian sector,” said one aid worker based in Yemen. He asked, “Will this have sufficient guarantees for international banks, shipping companies and suppliers?”
Yemen depends on imports for the vast majority of its food, medicine and fuel needs. Aid groups worry that the US designation could jeopardize the current calm in the fighting and could prompt other countries to impose their own restrictions.
If that happens, the aid worker said, “we will see prices go up; We may see signs of a fuel crisis, and the economic situation will certainly get worse, with no peace agreement on the ground.”
This classification may particularly complicate their work in places like Saada, the northern governorate where the Houthi movement was born and where the group’s ties are particularly deep.
“When we have barely found support and funding for certain activities, and we have already committed to helping people in need… and suddenly we say: ‘Oh, we are sorry, we will not be able to finish this.’ It is not an easy thing to do,” said Al-Dakhina of CARE Yemen. .
The United States, the largest provider of humanitarian aid to Yemen, spent $738 million in fiscal year 2023 to help provide food, drinking water and other necessities.
The Biden administration has promised to maintain its commitment to Yemenis in need. Officials described what they say are extensive efforts to ensure that the designation does not worsen conditions in the country.
The administration is delaying the entry into force of the sanctions for 30 days, one official said, to provide information to shipping companies, insurance companies and aid groups, “to avoid downplaying risks and providing clarity” so that the sanctions do not have “unintended impacts, especially on the delivery of life-saving and humanitarian aid.”
Officials chose the “Specially Designated Global Terrorism” designation rather than “Foreign Terrorist Organization,” they said, because it allows them to provide more effective relief operations and protect humanitarian and commercial organizations in Yemen from prosecution for supporting terrorism.
“We have been communicating closely… so that our partners understand what this is and what it is not,” one official said. “It is not a foreign terrorist organization.”
Even with these guarantees, Yemen's population remains at risk. For more than eight years, the international community has supported “emergency interventions” to keep Yemenis alive when the country needed recovery and development, said a person who works in Yemen’s health care system.
“It's too long,” But without the “peace element,” the interventions must continue, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
One potentially positive development – the announcement of a peace agreement between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia – seemed imminent only a few months ago. But now, Yemeni analysts say, it seems that the matter has been delayed due to the new conflict.
Nasr al-Din Amer, head of the Houthi-run Saba News Agency, said that communications between the two sides are “continuous.” But he said recent discussions had been “slow.”
