“It’s intolerable that millions of people in Yemen are one step away from famine and are struggling with catastrophic levels of hunger alongside conflict, COVID-19 and cholera. The number of people in extreme hunger is expected to grow dramatically in the coming six months.
“It’s against this backdrop that Secretary Pompeo is considering what would amount to a cease and desist order for life-saving aid and critical imports.
“The US government’s aid suspension and other donors’ complacency has meant that barely half the money needed to provide the most vulnerable people with basic necessities like clean water, food, and medicine is available this year.
“Yemen’s current trajectory will result in even greater suffering. The US must back down from its threat to designate the Houthis as a terrorist organization. Instead it should end arms sales that fuel the conflict, fully restore humanitarian funding, and urgently push for a political settlement that can help Yemen’s poorest people recover.”