$88 million in new support.. Donor money pours into the Houthi pot
English - Sunday 14 May 2023 الساعة 04:39 pm
Sana'a, NewsYemen, exclusive:
At a time when the United Nations holds conferences to collect funds and aid to support its humanitarian activities to alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people, the Houthi militia, through its control of the main centers of international organizations, directs support and acquires the lion's share of that money.
During the past years, a lot of UN aid was delivered to government agencies under the control of the Houthis, despite UN reports confirming the obstruction of aid delivery and the clampdown on humanitarian response efforts and projects in areas controlled by Iranian-backed militias.
UNICEF continues to support Houthi
During the past days, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and certain Houthi leaders in the Ministry of Water and Sanitation signed a support agreement worth $88 million, under the cover of implementing sustainable projects in the water and sanitation sector.
According to the Houthi news agency, Saba, the UN support plan will be implemented during the years 2023-2024, and it was signed by the UNICEF representative in Yemen, Peter James Hawkin, and the Houthi leader, Abdul Raqeeb Al-Sharmani, who is appointed as Minister of Water in the unrecognized Houthi government.
The UNICEF representative in Yemen confirmed the continued support of the United Nations for the water and environmental sanitation sectors during the next phase to alleviate the suffering of Yemenis, address the problems facing this sector, and support efforts to expand water and sanitation services and projects.
Previously, with the support of the Ministry of Water, the same organization adopted a project to provide printers for the Ministry of Education, which is led by the brother of the leader of the Houthi militia, Yahya al-Houthi. This support comes to support the printing of Houthi educational curricula that promote terrorist ideas and reinforce recruitment among children.
International insistence on supporting Houthi
UNICEF's new support for the Houthis came more than a month after a directive issued by the Speaker of Parliament, Sheikh Sultan al-Barakani, to Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik, regarding what was raised about international organizations operating in Yemen tampering with food, relief and humanitarian aid programs and the funds allocated for that and not dealing with it through the Central Bank of Yemen in Aden, and its close association with the coup tools, and the horrific volume of irregularities and tampering practiced by these organizations.
Al-Barakani's directive confirmed the continuation of tampering, irregularities and manipulation, led by international organizations and the World Bank, by dealing with the amounts used through the Central Bank in the capital, Aden, despite the huge amounts announced. Rather, they are supplied to private banks and banks, in violation of what is followed, and not dealing through the legitimate government agencies.
previous suspicions
The signing of the new support in favor of the Houthis, comes as a continuation of the operations of depleting donor funds carried out by UNICEF during the last period, most notably the emergency cash transfer project that has been managed from Jordan since 2017, and it is a project funded by the World Bank, and its headquarters was moved to Sana’a in early 2022 under Managing the Social Fund, and appointing a person from the Houthi group as a director of the program, to be controlled by the Houthi militia through its supervisors who handle exchange operations in all regions of the Republic and manipulate exchange rates.
Other imbalances made by international organizations, including the World Food Program, with regard to the volume of operating expenses for projects, which amount to approximately 70% of the total support granted, as well as the awarding of tenders to certain companies that are not qualified and in violation of the law and international standards.
Houthi control over organizations
Many indications confirm that the officials of the UN and international organizations operating in Sana'a were subjected to blackmail by the Houthi militia, and those organizations and their humanitarian and relief programs were transferred under the grip of the militia, which is confirmed by the looting, burglary, and devouring of aid and program and project funds in order to control the mechanisms of its distribution, and this coincided with Complete deprivation of those who deserve it.
Accusing the Houthis of employing the file of humanitarian aid and controlling donor funds is not new. Rather, it came through an understanding with organizations operating in their areas of control that have come to serve the interests of the militias. This was confirmed by Ms. Lise Grande, the former head of United Nations humanitarian operations in Yemen, who said that the coercive and predatory police state The Houthis imposed hundreds of restrictions on the delivery of humanitarian aid.
accomplices in looting
Human rights reports and local and international activists confirmed that UN and international organizations in Yemen have become a partner in one way or another in enabling the Houthi militia to remain present on the ground by supporting them, whether financially or militarily, which has made these organizations the focus of a lot of criticism, which often amounts to accusations. With regard to working to aggravate the humanitarian situation instead of lifting the population from its burdens.
Oved Lubel, a policy analyst at the Australian Council for International Studies, has pointed out in previous reports to the suspicious role played by humanitarian organizations in Yemen that provide huge funds directly from UN agencies to support the Houthi war machine, thus entrenching the presence of militias and exacerbating the human tragedy.
The Australian expert said: The Houthi militia is responsible for the cause of the humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen, by stealing a lot of humanitarian aid that was supposed to contribute to improving the living conditions of citizens, noting that a large amount of aid is provided by international organizations to terrorist militias as support To improve the conditions of citizens, but this money is quickly used by the militias to serve their interests.
Continuing to provide support to the Houthis, despite the warnings contained in human rights reports and international officials, is considered evidence of oppression and a kind of joint cooperation between these organizations and the Houthi militia.
UN and international organizations in Sana'a follow policies of organized looting and draining of donor funds, starting with huge operating budgets such as salaries for their employees, protection allowances, travel, etc., as well as suspicious practices with the Houthis that included talking about fake deals under which the Houthis get huge funds without this being truly reflected on the ground.
