Yemen: Humanitarian Access Snapshot (2019 Yearly Overview)

Analysis

In 2019, up to 8.3 million people were estimated to have been affected by various access restrictions and constraints in Yemen. Humanitarian partners reported over 2,380 access incidents across 244 districts in 21 governorates in Yemen. Over 90 per cent of the reports pertained to bureaucratic constraints imposed by the parties to the conflict in contravention of the legal obligations to facilitate humanitarian access under international humanitarian law (IHL) and UN Security Council resolutions. Constraints were worst in 75 hard-to-reach districts across Yemen where more than 5.1 million people were in need. The operating environment deteriorated rapidly in 2019, particularly in the last six months of the year, making Yemen one of the most non-permissive operating environments in the world.

In 2019, armed conflict intensified in Yemen as hostilities escalated along old and new frontlines. Hostilities were most intense in Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf, Hajjah, Sa’ada and Taizz governorates. Most notably, intense military escalations affected Abs District and surrounding areas in the north of Hajjah Governorate in the first quarter of 2019, and Al Dhale’e Governorate in the second quarter of the year. This resulted in hundreds of thousands of people displaced, disrupted service deliveries and severely aggravated humanitarian needs. In southern Yemen, hostilities in August and September 2019 between the internationally Recognized Government based in Aden (IRG) and the Southern Transitional Council led to a temporary withdrawal of humanitarian personnel and the suspension of aid programmes.

Restrictions of movement reached unprecedented levels during 2019, particularly in northern Yemen. Incidents increased fivefold since 2018 with 970 incidents incidents reported, representing 41 per cent of all reported incidents. Nearly 93 per cent of these incidents were attributed to the De-Facto Authorities (DFA) based in Sana’a in northern Yemen. These mainly pertained to delays to and denial of travel permits affecting all types of travel, including delivery of assistance, humanitarian coordination, needs assessments and monitoring visits. In the last six months of 2019, UN and NGO partners were increasingly subjected to movement bans for weeks and months in northern Yemen. In southern Yemen, obstructions were reported at road checkpoints across different governorates, mainly owing to the multitude of military and armed forces in charge of local security. Requirements for acknowledged deconfliction notification paperwork issued by the Saud-led Coalition continued to be imposed on humanitarian movements at the Dhubab checkpoint in Taizz Governorate, despite the voluntary nature of the deconfliction mechanism.

UN and NGO partners reported more systematized and institutionalized restrictions by the authorities on both sides for crossline movement between southern and northern Yemen. Particular challenges were reported on the movement of humanitarian cargo around the south-north supply pipeline. While alternative supply routes have been operationalized, this has led to higher operational costs for contracting, warehousing and clearance procedures. The restrictions imposed by both sides for crossline humanitarian operations continued to impede efforts by partners to reach people in need by the most direct and efficient means