Mon., January 25, 2021
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Monday suspended some of the terrorism sanctions that former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo imposed on Yemen’s Houthi rebels in his waning days in office.
The Treasury Department said it would exempt certain transactions involving the Houthis from sanctions resulting from Pompeo's designation of the group as a “foreign terrorist organization” on Jan. 10. The exemption will expire Feb. 26, according to a statement from Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control announcing a general license for transactions that involve entities owned by the Iran-backed Houthis.
The sanctions Pompeo imposed had taken effect Jan. 19, just a day before President Joe Biden was inaugurated, and had been roundly criticized by the United Nations and relief organizations. Critics said the sanctions would exacerbate what is already one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises by barring aid deliveries to civilians in the war-torn nation.
Treasury's license does not reverse Pompeo's designations and does not apply to specific members of the Houthi group who have been otherwise sanctioned.
The Trump administration’s designation had sparked confusion in aid agencies and warnings from the U.N., as well as senior Republicans, that it could have a devastating impact on a conflict-wracked nation facing the risk of famine.
Several aid groups had pleaded for Biden to immediately reverse the designation, with Oxfam America’s Humanitarian Policy Lead Scott Paul saying, “Lives hang in the balance.”
The Iranian-supported Houthi rebels rule the capital and Yemen’s north where the majority of the population lives, forcing international aid groups to work with them. Agencies depend on the Houthis to deliver aid, and they pay salaries to Houthis to do so.
Six years of war between a U.S.-backed Arab coalition and the Houthi rebels have been catastrophic for Yemen, killing more than 112,000 people and reducing infrastructure from roads and hospitals to water and electricity networks to ruins. It began with the Houthi takeover of the north in 2014, which prompted a destructive air campaign by the Saudi-led coalition, aimed at restoring the internationally recognized government.
Most of Yemen’s 30 million people rely on international aid to survive. The U.N. says 13.5 million Yemenis already face acute food insecurity, a figure that could rise to 16 million by June.
The U.S. designation move was part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to isolate and cripple Iran. It also showed support to a close U.S. ally, Saudi Arabia, which leads the anti-Houthi coalition in the war. Saudi Arabia has advocated the terror designation, hoping it would pressure the rebels to reach a peace deal. Past rounds of peace talks and cease-fire agreements have faltered.
Matthew Lee, The Associated Press
US suspends sanctions on Yemen rebel dealings to boost aid
Issued on: 25/01/2021
Issued on: 25/01/2021
Supporters of Yemen's Huthi rebels march during a rally in the capital Sanaa to denounce the US designation of the movement as a terrorist group Mohammed HUWAIS AFP
Washington (AFP)
President Joe Biden's administration on Monday froze US sanctions on dealing with Yemen's Huthi rebels for one month as it reviews a terrorist designation that aid groups warn will aggravate a humanitarian crisis.
The Treasury Department in a notice said that all transactions with the group will be authorized through February 26 at 12:01 am (0401 GMT).
The order signed by Bradley Smith, acting director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control, said the United States was not unblocking any funds that have already been targeted.
The move comes after Antony Blinken, Biden's choice for secretary of state, said that the United States would quickly review the designation of the Huthis as a terrorist group and end military support to Saudi Arabia's bloody offensive in Yemen.
Former president Donald Trump's administration, closely allied with the Saudis and vociferously opposed to Iran, declared the Tehran-aligned group to be terrorists in a determination that took effect on January 19 -- one day before Biden's inauguration.
Trump's secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, announced the move despite months of warnings by aid groups that the decision would intensify suffering in a nation where more than 80 percent of the 29 million people need aid to survive.
Humanitarian groups argue that they have no alternative but to deal with the Huthis, who amount to a government in much of Yemen including the capital Sanaa.
Pompeo had insisted that the State Department was exempting humanitarian work, but Blinken said the effort was not enough as it pertained just to Americans.
The Treasury Department in revised guidance said that non-US entities would not be targeted.
Tens of thousands have died and millions displaced in Yemen's six-year civil war as the Saudis fight to dislodge the Huthis and prop up a fledgling internationally recognized government.
© 2021 AFP
Washington (AFP)
President Joe Biden's administration on Monday froze US sanctions on dealing with Yemen's Huthi rebels for one month as it reviews a terrorist designation that aid groups warn will aggravate a humanitarian crisis.
The Treasury Department in a notice said that all transactions with the group will be authorized through February 26 at 12:01 am (0401 GMT).
The order signed by Bradley Smith, acting director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control, said the United States was not unblocking any funds that have already been targeted.
The move comes after Antony Blinken, Biden's choice for secretary of state, said that the United States would quickly review the designation of the Huthis as a terrorist group and end military support to Saudi Arabia's bloody offensive in Yemen.
Former president Donald Trump's administration, closely allied with the Saudis and vociferously opposed to Iran, declared the Tehran-aligned group to be terrorists in a determination that took effect on January 19 -- one day before Biden's inauguration.
Trump's secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, announced the move despite months of warnings by aid groups that the decision would intensify suffering in a nation where more than 80 percent of the 29 million people need aid to survive.
Humanitarian groups argue that they have no alternative but to deal with the Huthis, who amount to a government in much of Yemen including the capital Sanaa.
Pompeo had insisted that the State Department was exempting humanitarian work, but Blinken said the effort was not enough as it pertained just to Americans.
The Treasury Department in revised guidance said that non-US entities would not be targeted.
Tens of thousands have died and millions displaced in Yemen's six-year civil war as the Saudis fight to dislodge the Huthis and prop up a fledgling internationally recognized government.
© 2021 AFP
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