Houthis block UN aid delivery
YEMEN’S Houthi rebels have blocked half of the UN aid delivery programmes in the war-torn country – a strongarm tactic to force the agency to give them greater control over the massive humanitarian campaign, along with a cut of billions of dollars in foreign assistance, according to aid officials and internal documents.
The rebel group has made granting access to areas under their control contingent on a flurry of conditions that aid agencies reject, in part because it would give the Houthis greater sway over who receives aid, documents and interviews show.
The Houthis’ obstruction has hindered several programmes that feed the near-starving population and help those displaced by the nearly six-year civil war, a senior UN official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“Over 2 million beneficiaries... are directly affected,” the official said.
The Houthis have been pushing back against UN efforts to tighten monitoring of some $370 million (R5.5 billion) a year that its agencies already give to government institutions controlled mostly by the rebel group, documents show. That money is supposed to pay salaries and other administration costs, but more than a third of the money spent last year wasn’t audited, according to an internal document. Last year, the UN humanitarian co-ordinator for Yemen, Lise Grande, sent a letter to the Houthi-appointed prime minister complaining about a long list of demands. The “overwhelming majority” of them impede or delay delivery of aid and many violate humanitarian principles, she said in the letter.
For months, the Houthis demanded a 2% cut from the entire aid budget be given to them, a condition the UN and donors rejected. The US donated $686m to Yemen last year, according to USAid.
Last week, the Houthis appeared to back off the 2% demand, but continue to press for other concessions.
During a meeting in Brussels last week, aid agencies and international donors threatened to reduce aid if Houthis continue to impose restrictions on UN operations in Yemen. At least one agency, the World Food Programme, is considering cutting back the monthly food aid it delivers to 12 million Yemenis every other month, a UN official said. “It’s unfortunate that people will suffer but this is on the Houthis,” the official said. “They can’t use people as hostages for too long.”
The Houthis’ demands have stoked long-time concerns among aid agencies over the rebels’ diverting of humanitarian funds and supplies into their own or their supporters’ pockets or towards their war effort.
The Houthis have withheld visas and permissions for equipment and supplies and refused to grant clearances for UN missions to move through rebel-controlled areas.