UN calls on US to reverse labelling Huthi rebels as ‘terrorists’

UNITED NATIONS, United States: The United States must cancel its decision to classify Yemen’s Huthi rebels as "terrorists" to avoid the risk of a famine not seen for decades, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council on Thursday.

"What is the likely humanitarian impact? The answer is a large-scale famine on a scale that we have not seen for nearly 40 years," said Mark Lowcock, the UN undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs.

"Would licences and exemptions for aid agencies prevent that? The answer is no. What would prevent it? A reversal of the decision. "UN Yemen mediator Martin Griffiths, UN aid chief Mark Lowcock and UN food chief David Beasley issued their warnings during a UN Security Council meeting on Yemen.

“We fear that there will be inevitably a chilling effect on my efforts to bring the parties together,” Griffiths told the 15-member body. “The decision will contribute to the prospect of famine in Yemen and should be revoked based on humanitarian grounds at the earliest opportunity.”The United Nations describes Yemen as the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, with 80% of the people in need of aid.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the move against the Iran-aligned Houthis on Sunday. It will come into effect on Jan 19, the last full day in office of President Donald Trump’s administration.

President-elect Joe Biden takes office on Jan 20. The designation could be revoked by Biden’s administration.“We are struggling now without the designation. With the designation, it’s going to be catastrophic. It literally is going to be a death sentence to hundreds of thousands, if not millions of innocent people in Yemen,” said Beasley, a former governor of South Carolina.

“This designation - it needs to be reassessed, it needs to be reevaluated. And quite frankly, it needs to be reversed,” he said.While the United Nations and aid groups help about a third of Yemen’s 28 million people, Lowcock stressed commercial imports are key to ensuring millions more have access to food.

He said a US plan to issue licenses and exemptions to allow aid agencies to continue working will not prevent a famine in Yemen, which relies almost solely on imports.“Aid agencies cannot – they simply cannot - replace the commercial import system,” said Lowcock, warning the US decision would push Yemen into a “famine on a scale that we have not seen for nearly 40 years.”

“What would prevent it? A reversal of the (US) decision,” he said.The designation freezes any US-related assets of the Houthis, bans Americans from doing business with them and makes it a crime to provide support or resources to the movement.

Beasley also raised the alarm on a massive shortfall in aid funding for Yemen. He called on “the Gulf states, the Saudis to pick up the financial tab for the needs inside Yemen because the needs in other parts of the world are so great.”