DEBATE PACK CDP-0069 (2020) | 20 March 2020 Compiled by: Nigel Walker The situation in Yemen Subject specialist: Ben Smith Contents Main Chamber 1. Background 2 2. Press articles 4 Tuesday 24 March 2020 3. Press releases 6 4. PQs 15 General debate 5. Debates 24 6. Statements 25 7. Early Day Motions 29 8. Further reading 32 The proceedings of this debate can be viewed on Parliamentlive.tv. The House of Commons Library prepares a briefing in hard copy and/or online for most non-legislative debates in the Chamber and Westminster Hall other than half-hour debates. Debate Packs are produced quickly after the announcement of parliamentary business. They are intended to provide a summary or overview of the issue being debated and identify relevant briefings and useful documents, including press and parliamentary material. More detailed briefing can be prepared for Members on request to the Library. www.parliament.uk/commons-library | intranet.parliament.uk/commons-library | [email protected] | @commonslibrary 2 Number CDP-0069, 20 March 2020 1. Background The fighting in Yemen has been going on since the failure in 2011 of a Saudi-backed transition from long-time President Saleh to his deputy Abd Rabbuh Mansour al-Hadi. The rebel Houthi movement, based in the North and deeply hostile to the Saudis, took control of much of the country from the Hadi Government, entering the capital, Sanaa, in late 2014. Saudi Arabia arranged a coalition, whose strongest members were Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, to prop up the Hadi Government. The ensuing conflict produced the world’s worst humanitarian disaster, with millions of people at risk from starvation and rampant disease. There was much concern about UK and US weapons sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE – weapons which were used in the Yemen conflict. In June 2019 an unfavourable court judgment led the UK Government to stop granting export licences for arms that might be used in Yemen. In December 2018 a fragile peace process started with an agreement in Stockholm. Its aim was to protect the vital port of al-Hodeidah on the Red Sea coast, where most international aid arrived. The agreement achieved partial de-escalation around the port. There was increasing violence in the south, however, where separatist forces were gaining strength, partly backed by the UAE. Terrorist operations including al- Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and ISIS/Daesh continued to conduct attacks, although the US killed al-Qaeda’s Yemen leader in February 2020. In September 2019, the Houthis launched devastating missile attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure at Abqaiq, causing world oil prices to surge. There was an agreement between the Houthis and the Saudis to cease Houthi missile attacks and Saudi air strikes. Since early 2020 de-escalation agreements have ceased to be effective. The Houthis have resumed rocket attacks on Saudi Arabia, with assistance from Iran. Saudi Arabia has restarted air strikes on Sanaa. Iranian influence over the Houthis is growing, increasing the conflict’s centrality to Iran’s battle with Saudi Arabia over influence in the Middle East. In January 2020 the US tried to assassinate an Iranian commander in Yemen on the same day that his colleague General Soleimani was killed in Iraq. The episode showed that, aside from counter-terrorist operations, the US remains deeply involved, despite attempts in congress to end US participation in the conflict. The situation in Yemen 3 The International Crisis Group warns that there could be a showdown in northern Yemen between the Houthis, and forces allied with the internationally recognised Hadi government of Yemen. That could cause a humanitarian disaster even bigger than the present situation because there are at least 800,000 internally displaced Yemenis in the region already. It would also make an agreement on general de-escalation impossible. Such an agreement is needed if there is to be any chance of real peace negotiations. 4 Number CDP-0069, 20 March 2020 2. Press articles The following is a selection of press and media articles relevant to this debate. Please note: the Library is not responsible for either the views or the accuracy of external content. The US is complicit in Saudi atrocities in Yemen Al Jazeera Alex Preve 19 March 2020 Health workers targeted at least 120 times in Yemen conflict – report The Guardian Bethan McKernan 18 March 2020 War-torn Yemen at a 'critical juncture', warns UN Al Jazeera 7 March 2020 Yemen's Houthis step back on threats to tax aid BBC News Online 14 February 2020 Yemen rise in violence threatens to derail peace moves, UN warns The Guardian Patrick Wintour 28 January 2020 Yemen: death toll rises to 116 from suspected Houthi missile attack The Guardian Bethan McKernan 21 January 2020 Failure to end civil war in Yemen now could cost $29bn The Guardian Patrick Wintour 1 December 2019 The situation in Yemen 5 Yemen government signs power-sharing deal with separatists The Guardian Patrick Wintour 5 November 2019 Death toll in Yemen war reaches 100,000 The Guardian Peter Beaumont 31 October 2019 Saudi Arabia brokers deal between warring sides in south Yemen The Guardian Patrick Wintour 25 October 2019 Yemen: Aden's changing alliances erupt into four-year conflict's newest front The Guardian Bethan McKernan 1 October 2019 Yemen civil war: the conflict explained The Guardian Patrick Wintour 20 June 2019 6 Number CDP-0069, 20 March 2020 3. Press releases Calling for de-escalation in Yemen Foreign and Commonwealth Office 12 March 2020 Statement by Ambassador Karen Pierce, UK Permanent Representative to the UN, at the Security Council briefing on Yemen: Thank you very much, Mr President. Thank you to Martin, thank you to Ramesh, thank you to both of you for all that your teams are doing in these very difficult circumstances. We come here every month and we hear these briefings and they normally swing between optimism and pessimism. But we all know the underlying realities of Yemen and we all know the risks that face the Yemeni people. And in that connection, I have to say, I find it astonishing that there can still be the sort of fighting that both Martin and Ramesh have described today. I want to begin by echoing both your pleas to all parties for the fighting to stop and for de-escalation to begin. And as Martin said, this has to be public, it has to be accountable, it has to be nationwide, and we have to get into more negotiations, wider negotiations that actually make tangible progress. So the United Kingdom says today to all the parties, please act in good faith. Please engage in the process. Please seize the opportunity and ensure that 2020 is the year when we bring this dreadful conflict to a close. Martin has laid out what the roadmap to that closes and we urge the parties to cease it without delay. I want to also echo what Martin said when he was in Marib. The conflict cannot be solved on the battlefield and I want to talk about the continuing obstructions put on the Redeployment Coordination Committee by the Houthis. I note the announcement today that the Government of Yemen has suspended its participation in the Committee. Less engagement is not the route to bringing peace to Hodeidah or to Yemen as a whole. Again, the United Kingdom urges and implores all the parties to constructively cooperate with General Guha and UNMHA. There is one positive development in the increased engagement between Saudi Arabia and Oman at least that’s how it seems. Increased dialogue between regional actors is key for stability, not just in Yemen, but in the region as a whole. On humanitarian access, Mr. President, I think Ramesh is absolutely right to say this in the context of international humanitarian law and the figure about casualties of children going up from 1 in 5 to 1 in 4 is shameful and it should horrify us all and urged us to redouble our efforts. On the difficult issue of the operating environment for humanitarian actors. I know there have been some small signs of improvement in North Yemen, but of course there’s much more to do. We call on the Houthis to now deliver on the minimum operating requirements that the international community has clearly set out. The world’s worst humanitarian crisis can’t afford to deteriorate any longer. We look to the UN and the international community to remain united in The situation in Yemen 7 response to access constraints and this was possible at the Brussels donor meeting on 13 February, which was helpful. Any plans to scale back assistance should be fully coordinated in order to limit the impact on Yemenis in need. I wanted to echo what Ramesh said about the SAFER oil tanker. Again, it is incredible that every month we come here and every month we hear how precarious the situation is with this tanker and nothing gets done. So while I know negotiations are underway to find a diplomatic way forward again, I call on the Houthis to allow either the removal of the oil or repair mission to precede. Continued Houthi inaction on this issue is nothing short of reckless. They are playing dice with people’s lives and with the environment in a very important part of the world. The huge environmental and humanitarian damage must be avoided and all steps must be taken to that end. I have followed with interest what was said about the economy. We’re very concerned that the Central Bank of Yemen may run out of foreign currency reserves in the next few weeks, which of course will exacerbate the humanitarian and political consequences.