After the Biden administration announced it was allowing transactions with Yemen’s Houthis until February 26th, the UN said the move is not enough. The UN is still calling for the US to completely reverse the Trump administration’s decision to designate the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Tuesday that companies are still planning to cancel or suspend business in Yemen despite the Biden administration’s waiver allowing business with the Houthis. Dujarric said the waiver “does not resolve underlying uncertainties.”
“With millions of civilians at risk of starvation, Yemen cannot afford even a temporary disruption in commercial activity and it is not yet clear that the new license will prevent those kinds of disruptions,” he said. “We continue to call for a reversal of the designation on humanitarian grounds.”
Yemenis are at risk of starvation due to the US-backed Saudi-led war on the country that has been raging since 2015. The coalition regularly bombs civilian infrastructure and enforces a blockade on Yemen. The UN has not formally declared a famine, but Yemenis are actively starving to death and have been for years.
While on the campaign trail, Joe Biden vowed to end US support for the war. During last week’s confirmation hearings, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said President Biden would end the war in “very short order.” But so far, the new administration has not taken action.