A/HRC/45/CRP.7 self-rule declaration on 29 July,67it withdrew its participation in the consultations on the implementation of the Riyadh Agreement on 25 August 2020.68 This has been followed by renewed fighting with the Government of Yemen. 3. Humanitarian situation 57. Access and operational restrictions imposed by the parties on humanitarian agencies and on food, medicine and fuel supplies, the further deterioration or destruction of water, sanitation and health infrastructure, flooding, locusts, the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, non-payment of salaries, currency depreciation, and donor fatigue, all further exacerbated the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. According to Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs’ (OCHA) July 2020 Situation Report, nearly 80 per cent of the population remain in need of humanitarian aid and protection. The Word Food Programme (WFP) estimates that over 20 million people are food insecure, with some 25 per cent of the population facing acute food insecurity, which WFP predicts will rise to 40 per cent of the population by the end of the year. Malnutrition disproportionately affects marginalised and at-risk groups. There are over 3.5 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Yemen, most of them women and children, facing acute vulnerabilities, including 1.5 million in the Ma’rib Governorate, who lack access to adequate health care, food, water, housing, and education. 58. The COVID-19 outbreak has taken place at a time when barely half the health facilities in Yemen are functional. Facilities that are operational are underequipped to cope with the disease. Additional constraints in the fight against the virus include the compromised immunity of many within the community due to malnutrition; successive infectious disease outbreaks, such as cholera, dengue and Chikungunya virus, which disproportionately affect women and girls; and the particular vulnerability of specific groups due to displacement and poor access to sanitation services (e.g. IDPs, migrants and refugees). Added to this are the gravely inadequate measures adopted by the Government of Yemen, de facto authorities and the STC, poor data collection and reported attempts to conceal information regarding infection rates. The Group of Experts has repeatedly called for the release of detainees, who are at increased risk of infection. The Group received some reports that under the cover of COVID-19 prevention measures, further violations have been committed, particularly against migrant groups. 59. The current lack of funding for international humanitarian aid compounds the dire humanitarian situation. The High-Level Pledging Event held in Riyadh on 2 June 2020 saw donors pledge only US$1.35 billion of the US$2.41 billion needed to cover essential humanitarian activities between June and December 2020. This gap is even more concerning, as, according to OCHA, since mid-April, 31 of 41 United Nations programmes critical to fighting COVID-19 in Yemen have reduced or closed for lack of funding. 60. The Group of Experts remains extremely concerned in relation to the Safer Oil Tanker. According to the Government of Yemen, on 27 May 2020, the engine room of the tanker was flooded after a seawater pipe burst, increasing the risk of the vessel sinking or exploding.69 In July 2020 the Houthis reportedly sent a letter approving the deployment of a United Nations technical team to assess the Safer oil tanker, located off the coast of Ras Isa terminal in the Red Sea, after renewed warnings from the United Nations of an environmental, social and economic catastrophe in the event of a spill. 4. Arms transfers 61. Notwithstanding the strong recommendations by the Group of Experts in its previous reports, third States, including Canada, France, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the United States of America, continued their support of parties to the conflict including through arms transfers. Available data shows DW, “Yemen separatists abandon self-rule in step toward peace”, 29 July 2020. Available at: https://www.dw.com/en/yemen-separatists-abandon-self-rule-in-step-toward-peace/a-54360477 68 See https://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-riyadh/yemen-southern-separatists-pull-outof-riyadh-agreement-talks-idUSKBN25L2Q1 69 S/2020/477. Available at: https://undocs.org/en/S/2020/477 67 19