UN continues projects with Houthis despite kidnapping of staff

Health projects in Al-Bayda Governorate, North Yemen, funded by $340,000 from the United Nations (UN), were officially opened yesterday, according to Houthi media outlet Saba News Agency. Their inauguration took place in spite of the ongoing kidnapping of international organization workers in Sanaa for over three months.

The projects, inaugurated by Al-Bayda Governor Abdullah Idris, included the operating room at Shahid Omar Ali Hospital, costing $23,731, and an intensive care unit at $59,921. A solar power system was installed at the hospital for $180,970 and another at Arib Health Center for $74,160, bringing the total to $338,783.

These projects were funded by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

In June of this year, the Houthis began a kidnapping campaign targeting UN staff, NGO workers, and former Yemeni employees of the United States Embassy in Sanaa.

Then, in July, the Houthis announced the launch of projects in governorates in North Yemen worth over $8 million, funded by UN agencies and international organizations, while several employees of these organizations remain missing.

According to official UN figures, 13 UN staff members, in addition to five employees of local NGOs, were "arrested" during the Houthis’ kidnapping campaign in Sanaa, Hodeidah, and Saada.

The Ministry of Legal Affairs in the internationally recognized Yemeni government reports that more than 50 international and local organizations’ workers were kidnapped. 

The Iran-backed Houthis accused some of the kidnap victims of espionage for Israeli and American intelligence, publishing videos of confessions that the UN Commission described as "forced and fabricated."

Despite these incidents, the UN has not taken action to pressure the Houthis, and UN agencies and international organizations continue to operate in Sanaa amid threats from the Houthis.

The internationally recognized Yemeni government is urging organizations and agencies to relocate their headquarters to the capital, Aden, to ensure the continuation of humanitarian work and avoid Houthi practices and violations.