Yemen Greenlights Measures to Relocate Int’l Organizations’ HQs to Aden

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The Yemeni government has adopted a series of measures and facilitations aimed at completing the transfer of international organizations’ headquarters from Sanaa, under the control of the Houthi group, to the interim capital Aden.
It has renewed its warning against international complacency regarding Houthi violations in humanitarian and relief work.
In recent weeks, the Houthis have intensified repressive measures against international humanitarian workers and UN agencies, arresting dozens of them on charges of espionage and spying for the US.
Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak chaired a government meeting in Aden to evaluate the progress of humanitarian and developmental interventions by international and UN agencies.
He also reviewed the measures taken to facilitate the relocation of organizations to Aden, enabling them to carry out their tasks without obstacles or restrictions.
According to state media, the meeting highlighted ongoing violations by the Houthis against humanitarian and relief efforts, including the recent abduction of dozens of UN staff and international and local NGOs operating in Yemen.
The government meeting condemned the Houthi group’s arrests as a “blatant violation of international humanitarian law, and a direct threat to the lives, security, and safety of humanitarian workers.”
It also emphasized the legal, ethical, and humanitarian responsibility of the Yemeni government to protect citizens in militia-controlled areas.
Yemen’s government meeting approved actions to handle recent humanitarian developments, focusing on ongoing Houthi violations against international agencies and their staff.
They instructed ministries to facilitate the relocation of these agencies to Aden, ensuring services reach all Yemeni citizens.
The meeting also reviewed Houthi arrests of international agency workers, discussing plans to realign aid efforts and donor funds in response. Yemen reiterated warnings against ignoring Houthi abuses and pressures on humanitarian operations in the country.
Yemen’s cabinet accused the Houthi group of using humanitarian aid for political and military purposes, turning areas they control into prisons for dissenters.
The government urged immediate action to pressure the Houthis into releasing abducted UN and international NGO staff without conditions.
UN envoy Hans Grundberg highlighted to the UN Security Council the Houthis’ crackdown on Yemeni civil society and NGOs, noting the arbitrary detention of 13 UN staff, including one in Sanaa, and five international NGO workers, along with many others from local NGOs and civil society.