The forgotten tragedy

By David Meier 

Some weeks ago, the UN rang the alarm on the threat of starvation of millions of people in Yemen due to a blockade of any Yemeni land, sea and air ports imposed by a Saudi Arabian – led military coalition. The incident turns the spotlight on one of the worst man-made disasters currently taking place: the war in Yemen. This conflict seems to be overshadowed by other conflicts with more severe repercussions for the West such as the wars in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. The UN’s solemn warning also shed light on the EU‘s conundrum how to address the situation in Yemen. The EU has to decide whether it prefers to maintain a rather passive approach to the conflict, in order to protect its economic and strategic interests in the region, or whether it wants to act in accordance with the values of its founding treaties by promoting and safeguarding human rights and international humanitarian law.

On 8 November, Mark Lowcock, the under-secretary general for humanitarian affairs of the United Nations Organisation (UN), warned that unless the blockade of any Yemeni land, sea and air ports imposed by a Saudi Arabian – led military coalition is lifted, ``it will be the largest famine the world has seen for many decades with millions of victims.`` According to Saudi Arabia, the embargo had been imposed in direct  response to a missile attack against the Saudi-Arabian capital Riyadh, which had been launched by the Shiite Houthi rebels on Monday 6 November, and its purpose is to prevent Iran from supplying weapons to those rebels. Due to international pressure, the ports of Aden and Mukalla were reopened last week, but humanitarian aid and aid agency workers, as well as dearly needed food and medicines supplies have been hindered from entering the country or some of its regions so far.

The origins of the ongoing war in Yemen date back to the Arab spring in 2011, when the government of president Ali Abdullah Saleh was toppled down. Three years later, in September 2014, Shiite Houthi rebels allied to the ousted former president Saleh, started to invade and occupy the north of Yemen and the country`s capital Sanaa and expelled the internationally recognized government of Saleh‘s successor president Abed-Rabbo Mansour Hadi. In March 2015, a Saudi-Arabian-led military coalition joined the Yemeni civil war in order to support and reinstate the government of president Hadi.

There is an internal and a regional dimension about the Yemeni conflict. The Shiite minority is almost as numerous as the slim Sunni majority. Yemen has only existed for 27 years. In 1990, the Yemen Arab Republic (North Yemen) and the (marxist) People‘s Democratic Republic of Yemen (south Yemen) merged to one united Yemeni state. Before, two wars had been fought between both states in the 1970s. After the unification, a civil war broke out in the middle of the 1990s. Southern Yemeni secessionists lost the civil war. The military conflict between the Yemeni government and the Houthi rebels began in July 2004 when Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, head of the Zaidi Shia sect, started a rebellion against the government. Additionally to the Houthi rebels and the Hadi government, is a third party to the conflict comprising Sunni jihady forces associated with Al Quaida and ISIL. 

As regards the regional dimension of the conflict the war in Yemen is a proxy war between Saudi Arabia, which is a Sunni hegemony, and Iran, which envisions itself as the protecting power of all Shiites. Both regional powers struggle in Iraq as well as in Syria and in Bahrain. In Lebanon the next proxy war between both powers is looming.

In the European media the war in Yemen is not as prominent as the ones taking place in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. The underlying reason for the lack of coverage on this could be that only a very small number of Yemeni refugees have arrived in Europe, so far.

Even before the start of the war in 2014, Yemen has been the poorest of all Arab nations. The repercussions of the war on the humanitarian situation of the population of Yemen are very severe. About 10 thousand civilians have been killed and 2 million people have been displaced. According to John Ging, the UN's director of humanitarian operations, 15 million Yemeni citizens out of a total of 27 million lack proper access to clean water and health services. More than 17 million Yemenis are affected by an acute hunger crisis among them about 460,000 children who are severely malnourished. Additionally, Yemen has suffered from the worst cholera outbreak ever recorded, with more than 900,000 suspected cases and a death toll of about 2,190 people. Against this backdrop it is even more shocking that less than 45% of the country’s medical facilities are still operating.

Last October, the UN included the Saudi Arabia – led coalition on its annual black list for grave violations against children in conflict. All other warring parties in Yemen had already been listed before. The atrocities mentioned cover the recruitment of child soldiers, bombing of schools and hospitals, and the killing and maiming of children. On 29 September, the UN human rights council set up a panel with the purpose of investigating all alleged human rights violations in the realm of the war in Yemen.

Considering the devastating consequences of the conflict and the ongoing and looming famine catastrophes, the EU must mull how to address the situation. The best solution for Yemeni citizens would be a quick peace agreement between the warring parties. For that to happen a carrot and stick approach towards all parties is required. However, this means the EU would have to exert pressure on Saudi Arabia as well as on the Houthi rebels. But Saudi Arabia is a very important ally to the West in economic terms as well as in geopolitical terms; and its operations in Yemen are backed and supported with western intelligence. Thus, the EU is confronted with the ethical conundrum to chose between its economic and strategic interests and its values, such as the promotion and safeguarding of human rights and international humanitarian law, that are enshrined in the EU`s founding treaties.

One way to incentive peace talks is to impose arms embargoes on the warring parties. On 15 April 2015 the UN Security Council adopted an arms embargo on the Houthi rebels and blacklisted some of their leaders and allies freezing their assets and imposing travel bans on them. According to the latest EU arms export report at least 17 EU member states sold weapons to Saudi Arabia in 2015. Consequently, the incentive for the Saudi-Arabian-led coalition to compromise in peace negotiations with the Houthi rebels could be hampered due to the asymmetric access to arms of the conflicting parties in Yemen.    

Last October the leaders of four groups of the European Parliament send a letter to the EU‘s foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini urging her to propose an EU arms embargo on Saudi Arabia. The signatories of the letter are the leaders of the Socialists & Democrats (S&D), the Liberals (ALDE), the European United Left and the Greens. The four groups comprise 48% of all members of the European Parliament. Their main argument is that selling arms to Saudi Arabia is a violation of the EU´s Common Position 2008/944/CFSP, which defines common rules governing the control of exports of military technology and equipment.  According to article 2 of this common position there shall be no arms exports from EU member states to a third country (i.e. a country, which is not a member state of the EU) if at least one of 8 criteria listed in article 2 is met. Criterion 2 states ``Having assessed the recipient country‘s attitude towards relevant principles established by instruments of international humanitarian law, Member States shall: deny an export licence if there is a clear risk that the military technology or equipment to be exported might be used in the commission of serious violations of international humanitarian law.``

On 25 February 2016, the European Parliament had already adopted a symbolic resolution asking for an arms embargo on Saudi Arabia. However as a spokeswoman for Federica Mogherini explained correctly ``The final decision whether to authorize or deny an export remains at national discretion of member states. Decisions on issuing an arms embargo lie fully with the council of (foreign ministers); deciding an arms embargo would require political agreement by unanimity within the council.”

Exerting pressure on all warring parties in Yemen could help tackling one of the worst humanitarian situations there is on earth. The EU could contribute to this challenge by imposing arms embargoes, asset freezing and travel bans on several perpetrators of violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in Yemen. It should do so as it is believed that it could help alleviating the grievances of a war-torn nation and thus put into practice the honorable high standards that are enshrined in its founding treaties. This way, the EU could gain credibility in its promotion of those values. Actions speak louder than words!