What is the blockade’s role in Yemen’s humanitarian crisis?
For more than six years, Saudi Arabia has imposed an air and sea blockade on Yemen that has restricted the flow of vital commercial and humanitarian goods into the country. These restrictions have been a leading driver of the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, where 400,000 children are at risk of dying of malnutrition this year as the country is pushed toward “the biggest famine in modern history.” Since January 2021, Saudi Arabia has severely restricted fuel imports, hindering food shipments and hospitals’ ability to function.
Isn’t the blockade needed to prevent Iranian weapons from reaching the Houthis?
No. In 2015, the United Nations established aninspection and verification mechanism that ensures that ships docking at Yemen’s ports are not carrying weapons. In April 2021, US Special Envoy Tim Lenderking acknowledged that the mechanism “works quite well.” The import restrictions imposed by Saudi Arabia and the Hadi government are a tactic of economic warfare that seeks to gain leverage over the Houthis through starvation and deprivation of civilian populations.
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