A/HRC/45/CRP.7 of assistance, bureaucratic requirements cannot unjustifiably delay or impede access. The Group also received allegations that both the Houthis and the Government of Yemen imposed conditions that food distribution projects include beneficiaries considered loyal to the relevant party.172 131. The Houthi regulating body, the National Authority for the Management and Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Recovery (NAMCHA, replaced since November 2019 by the Supreme Council for Management and Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and International Cooperation (SCMCHA)), controls the management, permitting, access, and operations of aid efforts in Houthi controlled territory. Specifically, SCMCHA controls the process for allocation of operational and road permits required for organizations to engage in humanitarian relief projects and to distribute food aid. 132. The Group received allegations that SCMCHA, in particular, has conditioned and restricted the grant of operation permits for humanitarian aid projects, including for distribution of food baskets. These conditions and restrictions may include, for instance, the organization being obliged by the authorities controlling the territory to replace its designated beneficiaries with those who do not otherwise qualify for aid from the organization but are loyal to the controlling party. One organization reported that it could not refuse to provide aid to the “authority-imposed beneficiary lists” or it risked being unable to operate, resulting in the organization having to stop the delivery of food baskets.173 133. The Group of Experts investigated allegations that the Houthis hampered aid distribution in Al-Jawf. On 1 March 2020, at around 11 a.m., armed elements, allegedly linked to the Houthi forces, raided several aid organizations headquartered in Al-Hazm Directorate of Al-Jawf, forcing those organizations to cease operations, and used these buildings as military barracks, placing snipers on the headquarters premises. Two organizations - providing inter alia aid for water infrastructure, medicine, medical services, shelter and other relief - had their premises completely looted. Two of the organizations reported that all their staff members were displaced from Al-Jawf due to fear for their lives after these events and had ceased operations due to incapacitation from the raids. One organization reported that due to the cessation of their operations at least 1,500 families in the area will no longer receive aid.174 At least three other organizations were reportedly subject to the same raids and use of their premises by the Houthis for example, as barracks for fighters returning from the front lines. 134. The Group also received allegations of arrest and/or detention (or attempts thereof) of aid workers by the Houthis, in particular the detention of one aid worker in 2018. He was reportedly arrested by Houthi security forces on the grounds that he was gathering information for another party to the conflict. He is still detained at the time of writing. 135. Another organization reported that their financial manager had nearly been arrested on two occasions this year while trying to obtain project operation permits from Houthi authorities. Eventually the organization changed the parameters of their projects to prevent the arrest of their financial manager and to obtain operational permits. This same organization reported that, in 2017-2018, two of their workers had been detained and the organization had to negotiate their release with Houthi authorities. The organization has also had to hire armed security to support their food basket delivery due to the threats of arrest and violence, with the result being less funds for aid supplies. 4. Other practices affecting access to food and health 136. Some policies by parties to the conflict, in particular the Government of Yemen and the Houthis, might also violate the right to adequate food, including water. In Aden, for example, while some interruptions to water supplies were due to damage arising from the conduct of hostilities, the Group of Experts received allegations of water being diverted to the highest bidder in the areas of Al-Qallo'ah, Al-Safi, and Al-Zaytoon near the highlands in Aden, despite complaints to the Government of Yemen and STC water authorities. 172 Confidential sources on file. Confidential sources on file. 174 Confidential sources on file. 173 39