Written evidence submitted by Save the Children
1. Introduction
1.1 Save the Children has worked in Yemen since 1963, and with approximately 370 international and national staff and programmes in nine Governorates is one of the largest INGOs operating in the country. Our teams are working to ensure that children have the basics that they need to survive by supporting health facilities and operating mobile health teams; responding to increasing malnutrition rates with targeted treatment programmes; providing food distribution and unconditional cash transfers; and ensuring that children and their families have access to safe drinking water. We are also providing psychosocial support to children experiencing psychological distress, and are delivering mine awareness programmes to help keep children and their families safe.
1.2 The UK Government – and in particular DFID – should be credited for its response to the humanitarian crisis in Yemen. DFID was quick to re-align existing programmes and its management of grants has been flexible and responsive. Its commitment of an additional £75 million in emergency aid in 2015 represents a significant contribution to the response. Further, its efforts to ensure the resumption of imports of vital supplies into the country are beginning to show signs of impact.
1.3 Save the Children welcomes these actions and is keen for the Government to continue and increase its support to the humanitarian response. However, the full impact of UK aid on the humanitarian situation cannot be fully realised without equal attention to the protection of civilians.
1.4 We are concerned that the Government’s current support for Saudi Arabia-led military action is undermining the protection of civilians and is inconsistent with its support to the humanitarian response. More robust action is needed to ensure that existing standards and norms are upheld by all parties to the conflict, in line with Government commitments under the new National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review, and to ensure full compliance by the UK with legal obligations under national and international law relating to the sale of arms.
1.5 In this submission, Save the Children focuses on:
2. The Humanitarian Response in Yemen
DFID’s response
2.1 The scale of the humanitarian crisis in Yemen is enormous and the impact on children is particularly severe. Nearly half of the 21.2 million people in need of humanitarian assistance are children. Severe food insecurity has caused child malnutrition rates to escalate. An estimated 14.4 million of the population are food insecure, of which an estimated 7.6 million are severely food insecure requiring immediate food assistance. Overall cases of Severe Acute Malnutrition in children under the age of five have doubled to 320,000, compared to 160,000 before the conflict; 1.3 million children are projected to suffer from Moderate Acute Malnutrition this year, also double the pre-crisis projection. Hundreds of thousands of children are at risk of dying from malnutrition-related causes, and the threat of famine remains real.
2.2 In addition, children represent approximately half of the estimated 2.3 million people internally displaced by conflict and many of the 121,000 who have fled the country. Much of the population is without access to basic health care and other services including access to clean water and sanitation. Approximately 3.4 million school age children are currently not attending school.
2.3 DFID’s existing multi-partner resilience programme was quickly realigned to focus on emergency needs; the management of this grant has been flexible, responsive, and based on principles of partnership. The support to the Humanitarian Pooled Fund (HPF) means that funding is aligned with the sectoral and geographic priorities of the Humanitarian Country Team/inter-cluster coordination mechanism (HCT/ICCM).
2.4 New commitments in 2015 of £75 million make the UK the fourth largest donor to the Yemen crisis. DFID’s prioritisation of: emergency food assistance; treatment of children suffering from Severe Acute Malnutrition; access to safe water supplies; support to health screening and facilities for children; and pre- and post-natal care for pregnant women address some of the most critical sectors as well as the most vulnerable groups in Yemen.
2.5 There nevertheless remains an urgent need for additional funding, and for DFID to increase its funding in particular thematic areas. The UN Response Plan is currently only 51% funded. The education cluster, for example, remains critically underfunded (at just over 5%) and there is a risk that millions of children could miss out on education. Close to half (47%) of Yemen’s children are out of school, 1.8 million of whom have been forced out of school since the conflict started, adding to the estimated 1.6 million school-age children who were already out of school prior to March 2015. Over 1,000 schools have been rendered unusable by the conflict, in many cases because they have been damaged or destroyed and in others because they are being used as shelters for internally displaced persons.
2.6 Recommendation 1: As the fourth largest humanitarian donor for Yemen, the UK is in a strong position to catalyse increased funding from a greater diversity of donors through the hosting of an international donor conference. The UK is also well placed to intensify lobbying of a diverse range of donors to ensure that both INGOs and NGOs are adequately funded, either bilaterally or through the HPF, allowing them to continue delivering life-saving programming. DFID should also push donors for larger and longer-term awards, and continue to advocate for both regional and global donors to allocate neutral humanitarian funding – again, bilaterally, or through the HPF.
2.7 Recommendation 2: Food security and healthcare should continue to be prioritised. Additionally, in view of the scale of the needs and the UK track record in supporting emergency education, including to Syrian refugee children through the No Lost Generation Initiative, the UK is well-placed to play a leadership role in ensuring that children in Yemen, including those displaced by the conflict, have access to quality education.
Strengthening protection of civilians
2.8 All parties to the conflict have consistently failed to protect civilians and serious violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law have been reported. Senior UN officials, the ICRC and NGOs have accused parties to the conflict of deliberately targeting civilian objects, failing to distinguish between civilian objects and legitimate military targets, and of launching disproportionate attacks. During the first six months of the conflict the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) verified 8,875 reports of human rights violations. Children have been subjected to grave violations of human rights, including: killing and maiming; military recruitment and use in hostilities; abductions; and denial of humanitarian access.
2.9 The conflict in Yemen has been characterised by the use of heavy explosive weapons, often in populated areas, with civilians across the country living through a sustained campaign of aerial bombardment and ground attacks. The lack of regard for civilian lives by all parties to the conflict is illustrated by the thousands of civilian deaths since March. According to the UN, at least 5,700 people have been killed and 28,000 injured, of whom it is estimated that one half are civilians. Among them are at least 1,564 children. Based on UN figures, three children have been killed each day since the start of the conflict, although the true figure is believed to be higher.
2.10 Thousands of children have witnessed the deaths of family members and friends or had their homes destroyed or damaged. In interviews conducted by Save the Children in Yemen, children have said that they are afraid and angry and have spoken about the fear of the sound of airplanes and loud noises. In a survey carried out by Save the Children amongst displaced children in August, nearly half of the children surveyed said that they did not feel safe in the settlements that they had been displaced to. The psychological impact of the high-level of sustained violence being experienced in Yemen is likely to have long-term consequences for many children.
2.11 Civilian infrastructure, including hospitals and schools, has also sustained heavy damage including from the use of explosive weapons. According to UNICEF, as of early November 409 schools had been partially damaged and 161 destroyed by conflict. A total of 69 health facilities are also reported to have been destroyed or partially damaged. The combination of attacks on hospitals and shortages of medical and other essential supplies due to a de-facto blockade on commercial supplies entering the country and severely limited humanitarian access, has resulted in the virtual collapse of the health sector. Nearly a quarter of Yemen’s health facilities have ceased to function and capacity to respond to mass casualties or treat chronic diseases are significantly reduced: as of November 2015, an estimated 15.2 million people were in need of support for basic healthcare.
2.12 There is mounting evidence that some civilian deaths and damage to civilian infrastructure may be the result of disproportionate or indiscriminate attacks – and that they therefore constitute violations of international humanitarian law. In other cases, civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure have been caused by the use of explosive weapons with wide-area effects in populated areas – a result of aerial bombardments by the Saudi-led coalition and ground attacks by the Houthis and other non-state armed groups. According to the UN, aerial bombardments accounted for 73% of child casualties in the period May to June 2015.
2.13 Despite reports of increasing numbers of children being recruited by armed groups in Yemen, including the Houthis, Islamist and tribal militias and groups such as Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the issue has received relatively little attention in the context of the current conflict. According to the UN there have been 724 verified cases of child recruitment and use by armed groups. However, in reality under-18s may represent up to one third of members of armed groups, with armed adolescent boys a common sight at checkpoints, and increasingly on the frontline.
2.14 Likewise, children are being put at risk by the military use of schools. Fifty-eight schools were reported to have been occupied by armed groups in November 2015, mainly in Taiz. The military use of schools can make them legitimate targets for attack by opposing forces. It also endangers the lives of students and teachers; increases the risk of violations of human rights, including underage military recruitment and sexual violence; and disrupts education, particularly for girls.
2.15 There is significant potential for the UK to do more to encourage parties to the conflict to prioritise the protection of civilians in Yemen. Greater efforts in this area would complement and reinforce UK efforts to address the humanitarian crisis through reducing the impact of the conflict on civilians.
2.16 Recommendation 3: As a supporter of the Saudi-led coalition, the UK should use its influence and adopt a more vocal stance to highlight the need for coalition members to respect international humanitarian law and human rights; avoid the use of explosive weapons with wide-area effects in populated areas; ensure that deconfliction respected; and refrain from using banned weapons – specifically cluster munitions. Additionally, strategic partners should be pressured to guarantee security so that clearance of mines and unexploded ordnance can proceed rapidly. Funding should also be provided to support this vital work.
2.17 Recommendation 4: The UK Government should support relevant UN agencies, NGOs and civil society to identify children at risk of grave violations of their rights, including military recruitment and use, and support the development and implementation of programmes to secure the release and rehabilitation of children associated with armed groups and to respond to other grave violations of children’s rights.
Improving access to humanitarian and commercial goods
2.18 The de-facto air and naval blockade imposed by the coalition has been the single largest contributor to the current humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen. The blockade has resulted in severe shortages of basic commodities, market volatility and breakdown of basic services. The situation was exacerbated by the partial closure of Hodeidah Port following damage sustained in coalition airstrikes. The combined impact has been to effectively stop the flow of essential, basic commodities to the Houthi-controlled northern governorates, including the capital Sana’a.
2.19 Chronic fuel shortages have resulted in the virtual collapse of basic services including: water pumping and treatment plants; health services; and transport. It is significantly impacting on the ability of humanitarian agencies to operate. To maintain its core activities Save the Children constantly monitors and reallocates supplies from office to office, on at least one occasion temporarily closing an office due to lack of fuel to run generators.
2.20 An increase in the level of imports in October suggests that the blockade may gradually be easing. The UK should be credited with its efforts to achieve this. However, significant challenges remain to returning imports of aid and vital commercial goods to pre-conflict levels and urgent measures are still needed to ensure increased and sustainable supplies. These should include the rapid establishment of the UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism (UNVIM) to facilitate quicker processing of commercial shipments into Yemen and fast-tracking of humanitarian shipments by land and sea. We welcome the UK government’s commitment of £1.4 million to support its establishment – however, despite having been agreed in September by all relevant stakeholders, the UNVIM has not been established as of mid-December. In addition, key ports, in particular Hodeidah, must be rehabilitated and security conditions improved in order to restore the confidence of commercial shippers.
2.21 Humanitarian supply chains have also been impacted by the low air-cargo capacity. Aid can be transported on the three-times-a-week UN passenger flights from Djibouti to Sana’a, but only on a case-by-case basis and in very limited quantities. Dedicated UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) cargo flights can be requested through the Logistics Cluster but, to date, this process has been problematic: there are delays in acting on requests and if flights are not full INGOs have to pay for the entire flight or coordinate with other INGOs to fill flights and share the costs.
2.22 The onward distribution of fuel, food, medical supplies and other essential commodities is hampered by generalised insecurity; bureaucratic and lengthy procedures needed to obtain authorisation to travel and for deconfliction, as well as frequent checkpoints; and the break-down of rule of law particularly in southern governorates. The situation in Taiz City is of particular concern, where an estimated 200,000 civilians are living under virtual siege and Houthi forces and other armed groups are obstructing the delivery of aid and supplies.
2.23 Shortages are therefore likely to increase significantly in the coming months across the country, but particularly in the north, unless all restrictions on imports are lifted; port infrastructure is rehabilitated; air cargo capacity increased; security improved; and humanitarian access guaranteed by parties to the conflict.
2.24 Recommendation 5: The UK Government should continue to use its influence to ensure the removal of all obstacles to the flow of aid and vital commercial supplies into the country. In particular, it should pressure the UN, the Government of Yemen and Saudi Arabia to implement the UNVIM without further delay.
2.25 Recommendation 6: In order to improve humanitarian supply chains, the UK government should pressure the UN to establish a regular, scheduled UN-facilitated cargo flight service into Yemen.
3. The UK Government’s Response
Effectiveness of DFID spending management post staff withdrawal from Yemen
3.1 DFID flexibility and responsiveness in realigning funding for programmes has been extremely positive. However, engagement with partners is limited by distance and location with the Yemen Team currently located in the UK and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
3.2 Recommendation 7: The deployment of more DFID staff permanently to Amman would contribute positively to enhancing DFID’s understanding of programming, access challenges, and coordination, and would serve to further enhance partnerships with INGOs, many of whom have a presence (consistent/intermittent) in Amman.
Cross-government coordination of the UK crisis response
3.3 Whilst the UK is playing a leading role in the humanitarian response, its approaches in other areas appear to contradict its objective of alleviating the suffering of the Yemeni population.
3.4 The Government has indicated that it is aware of accusations of breaches of international humanitarian law by parties to the conflict in Yemen, and the Foreign Secretary has stated that “proper investigations” are required. However, thus far there has been no public condemnation by the UK government of alleged violations of international humanitarian law. Nor has the UK Government indicated that it will support the establishment of an international, independent, impartial mechanism to investigate alleged violations and abuses of international human rights law and international humanitarian law in accordance with the recommendation of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Moreover, in light of accusations by the UN and others of non-compliance with international humanitarian law by the coalition, the continued supply of UK arms and military expertise to Saudi Arabia raises serious doubts about the extent of the UK’s commitment to protecting civilians in Yemen. It also appears inconsistent with obligations under national legislation, the EU Common Position on Arms Exports and the Arms Trade Treaty which require the UK to refrain from authorising arms transfers where there is a risk that those arms may be used to commit violations of the laws of war.
3.5 The ability of the aid community to scale up services and respond to the immense needs of the population is constrained by the high levels of insecurity resulting from daily, intensive aerial bombardments and ground attacks. Aid workers are operating in an extremely volatile security situation and expending significant resources in adapting operations and staff-security procedures to minimise the risk of injury and loss of life. Save the Children facilities are among those that have been damaged or destroyed in airstrikes.
3.6 Recommendation 8: The UK should use its strategic relations with Saudi Arabia and other members of the coalition to ensure an enabling environment for humanitarian agencies to scale up the response to the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.
3.7 Recommendation 9: The UK should work with UN counterparts to support the establishment of an international, independent, impartial mechanism to investigate allegations of violations of international humanitarian and human rights law and, additionally, pressure parties to the conflict to end the use of explosive weapons in populated areas.
3.8 Recommendation 10: The UK should revoke or suspend arms export licences and reject new applications for arms exports to any party that risk being used in the current conflict. Additionally, defence support services that facilitate the use of UK-supplied weapons in the context of the current armed conflict in Yemen should be suspended.
Addressing long-term developmental issues in the humanitarian response
3.9 Recommendation 11: DFID could play a leadership role in engaging the broader donor community in reviewing the Development Needs Assessment. In such a review the education sector should be prioritised and support provided for, inter alia, capacity building for the Ministry of Education; rehabilitation of schools damaged by the conflict; non-formal literacy and numeracy programmes for youth, and accelerated learning for children who have been out-of-school for long-periods; and integration of children facing particular obstacles to accessing education, including children with disabilities, children from marginalised groups such as Muhamasheen, and children formerly associated with armed groups.
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