Aden -- In a recent briefing to the United Nations Security Council, the Chair of the Yemen Sanctions Committee highlighted growing humanitarian challenges in Yemen linked to the actions of Houthi authorities, raising concerns about obstruction of aid operations and violations of international humanitarian law.

Ambassador Joonkook Hwang of the Republic of Korea, who chairs the Committee established under Resolution 2140 (2014), reported that the panel had convened multiple times in recent months to assess compliance with sanctions targeting individuals and entities undermining peace and stability in Yemen. The Committee’s mandate includes monitoring asset freezes, travel bans, and the arms embargo imposed on the Houthi group under Resolution 2216.

During the February 2025 session, the Committee received a detailed presentation from the Panel of Experts, which documented a series of impediments to humanitarian access in Houthi-controlled areas. These include arbitrary detention of UN and NGO personnel, confiscation of aid supplies, and restrictions on movement and communication for humanitarian workers.

The Panel also expressed concern over the increasing politicization of aid distribution and the use of humanitarian channels for military or political leverage. Such practices, they warned, not only violate international norms but also exacerbate the suffering of millions of Yemenis facing food insecurity, displacement, and lack of medical care.

The Security Council is expected to vote on a draft resolution renewing the sanctions regime and extending the mandate of the Panel of Experts until December 2025. The vote will be followed by closed consultations featuring briefings from UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg and senior officials from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

UN relief chief Joyce Msuya, in a separate address to the Council, urged member states to take decisive action to protect humanitarian space in Yemen, citing the continued detention of aid workers and civil society representatives by Houthi authorities as a grave concern.