The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, has said that due to security challenges, all agencies, funds, and programmes will be suspended in Sa’ada governorate, Yemen.
This decision follows the recent detention of eight additional United Nations personnel, including six working in Sa’ada governorate, by Houthi de facto authorities, which has significantly impacted the Organisation’s ability to function.
UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq stated that this extraordinary and temporary measure seeks to balance the imperative to remain and provide aid with the need to guarantee the safety and security of UN personnel and its partners.
He emphasised that such guarantees are ultimately essential to ensuring the effectiveness and sustainability of their efforts.
Haq also explained that the pause allows time for the de facto authorities and the United Nations to negotiate the release of arbitrarily detained UN personnel and to ensure the necessary conditions are in place for delivering critical humanitarian assistance, guided by the principles of impartiality, neutrality, independence, and humanity.
The Deputy Spokesperson reaffirmed that the United Nations remains fully committed to assisting the millions of people in need across Yemen.
A Yemeni government source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Xinhua last month that the Houthis detained at least seven Yemeni employees working for international organisations on 23 January. The detainees reportedly worked with agencies such as UNICEF and the World Food Programme.
In June 2024, the Houthis detained employees from the United Nations and both international and local humanitarian organisations in the capital, Sanaa, alleging that they were “key members of an American-Israeli spy network” purportedly linked to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.
The Houthis have controlled Sanaa and much of northern Yemen since late 2014, engaging in conflict against Yemeni government forces. The war has resulted in what the United Nations has described as one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
