Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds South)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 26 October 2015 to Question 12777, what assessment she has made of whether each party to the conflict is taking reasonable steps to allow access to Yemen's ports for (a) fuel for civilian use and (b) other commercial and humanitarian goods.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
The UK welcomes the improvement in access for commercial and humanitarian shipping to Yemen’s ports over the last two weeks. In October, a total of 60 ships of all types entered Yemeni ports, including grain ships, fuel tankers, and humanitarian ships. We will continue to work with the Coalition and the Government of Yemen to ensure this improvement is sustained.
We will also continue to call on all parties to the conflict to safeguard key infrastructure, including airports, sea ports, fuel distribution sites and major access routes into Yemen; and to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds South)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 15 October 2015 to Question 11278, what recent conversations she has had with the parties to the conflict in Yemen about facilitating unimpeded and immediate humanitarian access to all people in need in that country.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
The Secretary of State hosted an international meeting on Yemen’s humanitarian crisis in New York on 28 September at which she emphasised that all parties to the conflict should facilitate unimpeded and immediate humanitarian access to all people in need in Yemen. Members of the Governments of Yemen, Saudi Arabia and other Coalition partners, amongst others, were in attendance. The Co-Chairs statement from the meeting can be found here: http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/co-chairs-statement-ministerial-yemen-meeting-monday-28-september-2015.
The UK is deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation in Yemen. We regularly raise commercial and humanitarian access with parties to the conflict.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds South)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 15 October 2015 to Question 11278, which instances of restrictions on imports to Yemen of humanitarian supplies provided by the UK (a) directly and (b) through the UN are known to the Government.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
The UK does not maintain a list of instances of restrictions on imports of humanitarian supplies. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) publishes regular snapshots on humanitarian and commercial imports to Yemen on its website.
The UK continues to call on all parties to ensure all reasonable steps are taken to allow access to Yemeni ports for commercial and humanitarian goods, including fuel for civilian use.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds South)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 12 October 2015 to Question 11278, who is currently responsible for impeding humanitarian access to people in need in Yemen.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
All parties to the conflict are responsible for impeding humanitarian access to people in need in Yemen. Intense fighting on the ground is making it increasingly hard for agencies to reach those in need within Yemen. This is compounded by restrictions on imports of commercial and humanitarian supplies into the country, including fuel. This in turn is hampering the distribution of humanitarian supplies within country, including essential food and medicines.
The UK continues to call on all parties to facilitate rapid, safe and unhindered access to all people in need in Yemen. The UK is one of the largest donors to the crisis and has announced £75m to respond to the crisis in Yemen. UK aid is providing vital medical supplies, water, food and emergency shelter, working with trusted and impartial actors who have a strong track record in delivering assistance in difficult and dangerous places. We also support a UN-led process on access negotiations and the establishment of the Access Working Group where partners report cases of obstruction and accessible routes.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds South)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 12 October 2015 to Question 11278, who is responsible for restrictions on commercial and humanitarian shipping to Yemen.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
A number of parties are responsible for the conflict in Yemen which has led to the restrictions on commercial and humanitarian shipping to Yemen. At President Hadi’s request, Saudi-led Coalition airstrikes began in March 2015 following a rebellion against President Hadi and the Government of Yemen by the Houthi’s and forces loyal to former president Saleh. Intense fighting and insecurity on the ground has resulted in restrictions being placed on commercial and humanitarian shipping, and it is proving difficult to distribute food and fuel to those who need it making the humanitarian situation even worse.
The most important action to address the humanitarian situation, beyond a ceasefire, is to open up access for commercial and humanitarian goods to reach those most in need. All parties to the conflict should take all reasonable steps to allow and facilitate humanitarian access, to facilitate immediate access to life-saving supplies both into and within Yemen. The Secretary of State for International Development recently reinforced this message at the United Nations General Assembly in September.
The UK also supports the UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism, UNVIM, which is now being established to address commercial shipping needs. It involves setting up an internationally-staffed maritime verification centre to replace the existing informal Coalition mechanism. To be effective, all commercial cargo should be within the scope of UNVIM – including fuel.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds South)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of (a) the level of humanitarian need and (b) access for the provision of humanitarian support in Yemen.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
The humanitarian situation in Yemen is now one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. According to the UN, 21 million Yemenis - more than 80% of the population - are in need of humanitarian assistance. Of those, over 6 million people are facing severe food shortages, with households struggling to meet their daily needs. In particular, 1.8 million children require access to life-saving nutrition services. In Hodeidah city alone, UNICEF have warned that 96,000 severely malnourished children are at risk of dying.
The UK is one of the largest donors to the crisis in Yemen and has announced £75 million to respond to the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, focused on the most urgent life-saving needs. UK aid is providing vital medical supplies, water, food and emergency shelter, as well as supporting UN work to co-ordinate the international humanitarian response.
The conflict has resulted in restrictions on imports of commercial and humanitarian supplies to Yemen and intense fighting on the ground, which has severely constrained access and limited the operational capacity of humanitarian partners across the country. The UK continues to call on all parties to the conflict to facilitate unimpeded and immediate humanitarian access to all people in need in Yemen, and to lift any restrictions on commercial and humanitarian shipping, including of fuel for civilian use.