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This move is something NGOs and diplomats have been fearing for months: They say wide-ranging "terrorist" designations against the Houthis in Yemen will make life-saving aid and diplomacy for peace-making much harder. https://twitter.com/SecPompeo/status/1348490896891850754
There was a false alarm in November: The @UN sent a security message to its staff (obtained by @newhumanitarian) saying it was "encouraging all US citizens to leave the North of Yemen."
https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news/2020/11/20/Yemen-aid-Ethiopia-war-Congo-Ebola-cheat-sheet
https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news/2020/11/20/Yemen-aid-Ethiopia-war-Congo-Ebola-cheat-sheet
US counter-terror restrictions usually have exemptions for humanitarian purposes. They don't fully work, as everything from moving money to buying a laptop for the relief operation gets snarled up, and can expose aid groups to the risk of prosecution: https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/feature/2019/11/26/balancing-act-anti-terror-efforts-and-humanitarian-principles
In December 2020, a group of NGOs warned Congress of the potentially "catastrophic" impact of sanctions against Ansar Allah (aka the Houthi group): https://assets.oxfamamerica.org/media/documents/Civil_Society_Letter_to_Congress_on_Yemen_.pdf
The @StateDept says it will sanction three senior figures in the Houthi movement. This kicks in on 19 Jan, the eve of Biden's inauguration. (The last-minute designation, leaving a hot issue for Biden early in his term, has been rumoured for months). https://www.state.gov/terrorist-designation-of-ansarallah-in-yemen/
People familiar with the issue told me that reversing a terrorism designation will be difficult for Biden (if he wanted to), both bureaucratically and politically. Nelson Mandela was still on US lists in 2008. (He was released from prison in 1990).
The UN has a measure of immunity, but not its suppliers and contractors. NGOs are more vulnerable to being caught on the wrong side of the law. @USAID has been tightening its rules too. The phrase you hear is a "chilling effect". https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/analysis/2018/09/26/shutdowns-suspensions-and-legal-threats-put-relief-world-s-troublespots-risk
The Houthis control most of the population of Yemen (whether they like it or not). And while warnings of famine are contested, everyday life for many is miserable and the a precarious middle class is getting wiped out: https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news-feature/2020/11/25/yemen-famine-hunger-food-prices-war
The Houthis have manipulated, obstructed and diverted aid very extensively. @HRW reported that Houthi authorities issued 385 directives regulating aid groups in just 20 months -- and @HRW recommended @UN sanctions on aid blockers. https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news/2020/09/14/Yemen-aid-obstruction-crimes-sanctions
But the US sanctions announcement doesn't say they address aid abuse., but "terrorist acts, including cross-border attacks threatening civilian populations, infrastructure, and commercial shipping."
With interesting timing, the embassy of the weak but internationally-recognised Yemeni government to the US has released what it says is yet another Houthi restriction on NGOs under its jurisdiction: https://twitter.com/YemenEmbassy_DC/status/1348327665015599107?s=20
Pompeo says sanctions are vital for accountability. Aid groups will say they will make their work harder. Critics will say they will immiserate the population to little effect. A @UN expert said recently that US unilateral sanctions may not be legal: https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/opinion/2020/10/22/sanctions-human-rights-united-states-impact
The three leaders listed are:
Abdul Malik al-Houthi
Abd al-Khaliq Badr al-Din al-Houthi
Abdullah Yahya al Hakim
Abdul Malik al-Houthi
Abd al-Khaliq Badr al-Din al-Houthi
Abdullah Yahya al Hakim
But they were already listed on the @UN Security Council sanctions list: https://scsanctions.un.org/en/?keywords=yemen
What's different is that the US intention is to designate the whole organisation, "Ansarallah – sometimes referred to as the Houthis – as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO)".
What's different is that the US intention is to designate the whole organisation, "Ansarallah – sometimes referred to as the Houthis – as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO)".
Though the Houthis are a rebel movement, they control the apparatus of the former (intact) Yemeni state, with its ministries., eg health. Aid agencies have to work with ministries to get anything done. https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news/2020/05/07/coronavirus-health-yemen-unpaid-world-health-organisation-cuts
AnsarAllah controls one of two "central" banks in Yemen. Under these sanctions will aid funds (including cash allowances for vulnerable Yemeni civilians), flow?
Foreign banks will shy away: "De-risking" is one of the most severe impacts for NGOs. https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/analysis/2014/12/31/analysis-ngos-and-anti-terror-laws-how-keep-your-bank-manager-happy
Foreign banks will shy away: "De-risking" is one of the most severe impacts for NGOs. https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/analysis/2014/12/31/analysis-ngos-and-anti-terror-laws-how-keep-your-bank-manager-happy
The Houthi leadership calls the US move terrorism: https://twitter.com/Moh_Alhouthi/status/1348544131560316933?s=20
Apart from humanitarian issues, well-placed observers say the designation could trigger new fighting and instability, including in Hodeidah and/or Marib. Saudi Arabia will welcome the move (and had lobbied for it). Further talks on prisoner exchange or other steps look unlikely.
