Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that sanctions are not introduced on parties in Yemen that will inhibit the operation of the Yemeni private sector in importing food into the country.

UN Yemen sanctions carefully target specific individuals, and food and medicines are not subject to sanctions. Sanctions apply to prominent figures who have engaged in acts that threaten the peace, security or stability of Yemen, including obstructing the successful completion of the political transition, and, as outlined in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Initiative and Implementation Mechanism Agreement, those who act directly or indirectly on their behalf and individuals who have committed human rights violations, including the use of sexual violence as a tool of war.

The UK and our partners have taken significant steps to mitigate against the wider impact of sanctions on Yemeni civilians, including working with the US on reversal of the US designation of the Houthis. We are deeply concerned at access restraints in Yemen, and we call on all parties to facilitate unhindered access for commercial and humanitarian actors. With 90% of Yemen's food imported, the UK recognises the important work of Yemen's food importers at a time of increasing food insecurity in country, and we engage with them often.