A/HRC/42/17 2. Blockade and siege-like warfare 53. Access restrictions imposed on Yemen by the coalition, including the de facto naval blockade and the closure of Sana��a International Airport, drastically limited imports and impeded the delivery of relief supplies, thereby significantly contributing to the deterioration of the economy in Yemen. The Group of Experts previously established that these measures had a disproportionate impact on the civilian population, in violation of international humanitarian law. Moreover, such measures, in particular the coalition’s total blockade of Yemen that followed the ballistic missile fired by the Houthis into Saudi Arabia in November 2017, may amount to collective punishment, which is prohibited by international humanitarian law. Siege-like warfare used by the Houthis around Ta’izz city since August 2015 and reported in Hajjah since the end of 2018 has also significantly impeded humanitarian access and put an additional burden on the population. The Group is concerned by reports that the Yemeni armed forces and affiliated groups have been preventing access to Al-Durayhimi city in Al-Hudaydah Governorate since August 2018. 3. Impediments to humanitarian access 54. In addition to restrictions on humanitarian actors for security reasons, both the Government of Yemen and the de facto authorities have imposed bureaucratic constraints that have caused significant additional delays in relief operations. The Group of Experts found that all parties to the conflict had violated their obligation to allow and facilitate rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians in need by imposing restrictions on movement of humanitarian personnel and goods into and within Yemen. In addition, aid diversion by the Houthis, and possibly by other actors, has impeded the delivery of humanitarian supplies in accordance with humanitarian principles. Violence against humanitarian personnel, assets and facilities included the murder of a delegate of the International Committee of the Red Cross in April 2018, which led to the withdrawal of humanitarian actors from certain areas. 4. Related human rights 55. Other measures taken by both the Government of Yemen and the de facto authorities have exacerbated the disastrous economic situation, further infringing on the human rights of the population; for example, the relocation by the Government of the Central Bank from Sana’a to Aden in September 2016 contributed to the drastic devaluation of the Yemeni currency and led to the non-payment of hundreds of thousands of civil servants, including teachers and medical personnel, working in areas controlled by the de facto authorities. The governmental tax revenue system collapsed, and the de facto authorities reportedly pursued aggressive tax collection practices to fund war efforts. The Group of Experts is concerned that both the Government and the de facto authorities have failed to meet their human rights obligations, particularly regarding the right to work, the right to an adequate standard of living, including the right to food and water, and the rights to health and education. 5. Starvation as a method of warfare 56. In both international humanitarian and criminal law, starvation covers the deprivation or insufficient supply of food, water and indispensable non-food items, such as medicines. It remains to be established whether the parties have intentionally used starvation to advance their military aims. However, the fact that the acts described above all played a role in depriving the population of objects indispensable to its survival, and have been continued, justifies deep concerns that starvation may have been used as a method of warfare by all parties to the conflict. Such deprivation also amounts to prohibited inhuman treatment. Considered serious violations of international humanitarian law, these acts may lead to criminal responsibility for war crimes. 10