NICOLA ROTHGIESSER
The war in Yemen goes relatively unreported in a news cycle constantly spewing updates on Brexit and Trump. The origin of this conflict resides in a failed power transition from the long-time authoritarian president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, to his subordinate, Abrabbuh Mansour Hadi, who was unable to keep the country together, amidst al-Qaeda attacks, a separatist uprising in the south, and the military’s pervasive loyalty to their former leader.
Who is fighting who?
The Houthi movement, which fights for Yemen’s Zaidi Shia Muslim minority, is at the centre of this crisis. The group took advantage of the country’s political instability by taking control of the northern provinces of Yemen. Loyal to the former leader, Saleh, the Houthis then tried to expand their control to the entire country, forcing President Hadi to flee abroad in March 2015. This alliance has since collapsed after Houthi fighters took control of Sana’a, the capital, and announced Saleh’s death.
Yemen has now become another proxy war. The Houthis, supported by Shia, powered Iran, are being countered by Sunni ruled countries like Saudi Arabia who are supposedly vying to restore Hadi’s government. Since Saudi Arabia’s intervention, the Houthis have been pushed back into the North. Similar to the situation in Syria, jihadists from al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group have taken advantage of the instability and chaos of the civil war, seizing land in the south.
The biggest humanitarian crisis of today
After a failed missile was launched at Riyadh in November 2017, Saudi and its coalition narrowed its focus on the Houthis and set up a blockade, to prevent the smuggling of weapons, food and medicine, to the Houthi rebels. June 2018 marked the Saudi-led assault on the key-Houthi held post of Hodeidah, the entrance for the majority of aid entering Yemen. Yemen only grows 5% of the wheat it consumes and as freshwater for crops has become limited by the conflict, the country is reliant on imports. With food supplies scarce, the cost of living has increased, particularly as the Houthis levy a ‘tax’ on goods that are carried through areas under their control. With a fallen health care system, Yemen has also been hit by a cholera epidemic, borne from poor access to sanitation and clean water, affecting more than 1.2 million people.
The situation in Yemen is not only a humanitarian failure of the Western world to act and broker peace negotiations but it also has led to significant geographic uncertainty. Yemen is located on a strait linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, an area in which many oil shipments pass through.
Is the crisis ‘legal’?
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has stated upon investigation that the blockade imposed by Saudi Arabia violates the proportionality rule of international humanitarian law. This rule asserts a cost-benefit analysis, such that the blockade is only legal if the impact on citizens is proportionate to the military benefits. Investigations on ships intercepted and blocked by Saudi-led forces found no weapons onboard, a blow to the coalition’s contention that the blockage prevents the weaponization of the Houthi and a restriction on aid to fund their efforts. However, by limiting the passage of these vessels, the humanitarian crisis is being exacerbated, impacting citizens’ access to food and aid. As such, Human Rights Watch has asked the UN Security Council to acknowledge the blockage’s illegality and impose travel bans and freeze assets of the Saudi coalition leads, including Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman. However, this war involves the rest of the world, through their continued supply of arms to Saudi Arabia and other Arab states, fueling the fighting. Out of a population of 29 million, 22 million citizens require humanitarian aid – that’s 3 out of 4 people. It is an incredible horror that this crisis has been allowed to go on for so long, with a UN report from August 2018 announcing that all parties in the conflict may be committing abuses under international law, amounting to international crimes. The coalition air strikes from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have caused most of the civilian causalities, hitting residential areas, markets, weddings, and medical institutions. These attacks may be held in violation of the international law principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution, through their seemingly non-directed attacks that lack precaution for civilian life. Other violations include the closure of Sana’a airport, eliminating the protection afforded under humanitarian law to the ill and wounded to flee the country. Illegal detentions of citizens have also taken place, constituting direct violations of human rights and dignity through the use of torture, and limiting individual’s access to the courts and representation. Journalists have faced assault, limiting their right to freedom of expression. The Houthi and coalition backed forces have also reportedly enlisted child soldiers to aid their causes, another breach of international law.
While Western countries have called for a ceasefire, some human rights organisations have taken legal matters into their own hands. The French-based Alliance for the Defence of Rights and Freedoms has sued the United Arab Emirates’ crown prince for his apparent involvement in the Yemen War. However, until the crisis is mediated, and investigators are allowed to freely enter Yemen, enquiries into war crimes will be limited and parties will not be brought to justice through the international courts.
