A/HRC/42/CRP.1 (a) The coalition’s blockade on Yemen 768. Access restrictions imposed on Yemen by the coalition, i.e. the de facto naval blockade and the closure of Sana’a International Airport, both of which drastically limited imports and freedom of movement, also significantly contributed to the deterioration of the Yemeni economy and hence to the current humanitarian crisis, including in further impeding the delivery of relief supplies. 769. Following its engagement in Yemen in 2015, the coalition enforced entrance restrictions to the Yemeni territorial waters, amounting to a de facto naval blockade. Every ship that seeks to enter Yemeni waters needs an authorization following an inspection carried out by the coalition’s Evacuation and Humanitarian Operations Committee (EHOC). In addition, in May 2016, the United Nations Verification and Inspection Mechanism for Yemen (UNVIM) was put in place at the request of the Government of Yemen to ensure compliance with the sanction regime set up by Security Council Resolution 2216 (2015). Accordingly, UNVIM is in charge of clearing commercial vessels that seek to enter Yemen via ports that are not under the control of the Government, and making sure that they do not contain weapons.1232 770. Such coalition procedures, retained in addition to and amounting to a duplication of UNVIM’s mandate, have significantly slowed down the entrance of goods into Yemen, adding to their cost. This has had a devastating impact on an economy relying essentially on imports, as shown by the fact that the amount of imports had already drastically dropped a few months into the conflict.1233 The gradual restrictions that led to the total closure of Sana’a airport to commercial flights in August 2016 also significantly affected the movement of persons into and out of Yemen, and had a significant impact on the right to health of those in need of specialized medical care abroad. 771. In November 2017, the coalition imposed a total blockade on Yemen for three weeks. Following the firing of a ballistic missile by the Houthis into Saudi Arabia on 4 November 2017, Saudi Arabia announced two days later the closure of all of Yemen’s air, sea, and land ports, effectively locking in 27 million people and locking out 500,000 metric tons of food and fuel, and 1,476 metric tons of aid.1234 After 10 days, the airport of Aden and its sea port were reopened, along with the sea ports at Mokha, al-Mukalla, and the border crossing with Saudi Arabia at al-Wadi’a. The coalition ordered that all imports should be rerouted through those ports.1235 On 23 November 2017, the ports of alHudaydah and Saleef reopened for limited humanitarian assistance. Given that around 80 percent of all of Yemen’s imports flow through these two ports and that about two-thirds of Yemen’s population live in the areas directly served by the Sana’a airport, “the continued closure of the ports puts an enormous strain on the availability of food in the market and significantly increases the risk of large-scale famine in Yemen”.1236 772. Despite the easing of the blockade, the closure had already significantly worsened the crisis. “Sixteen days of having part of the country cut off from all imports had already had a devastating impact on the largest humanitarian crisis in the world. Food prices have skyrocketed, moving staple food out of reach of even more people. Relief agencies and the 1232 Humanitarian vessels are exempted from such clearance. They can choose to use the deconfliction mechanism set up by the coalition. 1233 By June 2015, it was reported that only 15 percent of the prewar imports had been entering Yemen, See Security Council Report, “In Hindsight: The Story of the United Nations Verification and Inspection Mechanism in Yemen”, 1 September 2016 (https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/monthly-forecast/201609/the_story_of_the_un_verification_and_inspection_mechanism_in_yemen.php). 1234 Logistics Cluster (2017). Humanitarian assistance struggling to reach affected population in Yemen as blockade continues. https://logcluster.org/blog/humanitarian-assistance-struggling-reach-affectedpopulation-yemen-blockade-continues. 1235 Oxfam, Missiles and Food: Yemen’s Manmade Crisis (June 7, 2019) available at https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/bn-missiles-food-security-yemen-201217en.pdf. 1236 Ibid.. 184