According to UN OCHA, the humanitarian crisis in Yemen remains the worst in the ...
According to UN OCHA, the humanitarian crisis in Yemen remains the worst in the world. Nearly eight years of conflict and severe economic decline are driving the country to the brink of famine and exacerbating needs in all sectors. An estimated two-thirds of the population or 21.6 million people require some form of humanitarian or protection assistance, including 17.3 million who are in acute need. [1]
In order to address the dire humanitarian situation in Yemen, the restoration of regular commercial cargo flows into the country is essential. UN Security Council resolution 2216 (2015) decided that “Member States shall take necessary measures to prevent the direct or indirect supply, sale or transfer from or through their territories or by their nationals, or using their flag vessels or aircraft, of arms and related materiel of all types, including weapons and ammunition, military vehicles and equipment, paramilitary equipment, and spare parts for the aforementioned”.[2] In order to facilitate the unimpeded flow of essential commercial items to Yemen, the UN has been requested by the Government of Yemen to provide a monitoring and inspection service to inspect commercial cargo entering Yemen’s territorial waters in compliance with UNSCR 2216 (2015).
The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) was requested to operationalise and manage a mechanism to oversee the monitoring and inspection services on behalf of the UN and the concerned Member States. The United Nations Verification and Inspection Mechanism for Yemen (UNVIM) is an independent mechanism, executed by UNOPS.
UNVIM has been based in Djibouti, Republic of Djibouti, since January 2016. As of January 2023, UNVIM has issued clearances to more than 1,799 vessels discharging over 38.5 million metric tonnes of commercial cargo toYemen’s Red Sea ports of Hodeidah, Saleef and Ras Isa.
[1] UN OCHA, https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-humanitarian-response-plan-2023-january-2023
[2] UN Security Council Resolution 2216 (2015), https://www.undocs.org/S/RES/2216%20 (2015)