Extreme measures will hurt Yemenis

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s decision to designate the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization will have untold implications for the future of Yemen and harm U.S. interests at home and abroad [“Administration names Cuba a state sponsor of terrorism,” news, Jan. 12].

The Houthis have been at war with the Yemeni government and a coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates since 2015. Though the Houthis have committed grave violations of international humanitarian and human rights law and caused profound harm to civilians, governance and infrastructure, this designation, which prohibits waivers and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) licenses, will have dire consequence for the Yemeni people and undermine U.S. national security. This extreme measure will immediately halt the delivery of vital aid by U.S. humanitarian organizations and inhibit peace-building programs. Death, debilitating illness and hunger rates will spike exponentially throughout a civilian population already devastated by the ongoing war, famine and the coronavirus.

This will also exacerbate drivers of conflict — poverty, illness, lack of governance, insecurity and economic distress — and serve to radicalize desperate, vulnerable individuals. The incoming Biden administration must immediately revoke the designation or provide urgently needed OFAC licenses or waivers for humanitarian and peace-building organizations to address the ongoing violent conflict and the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, compounded by the global pandemic.

Megan Corrado, Alexandria

The writer is director of policy with the Alliance for Peacebuilding.

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