The Government of Yemen’s Initiative to Speed up the Entry of Ships Loaded with Fuel into Hudaydah Port, Alleviating the Suffering of the People and Improving the Humanitarian Situation (11 October 2019)

The Government of Yemen’s Initiative to Speed up the Entry of Ships Loaded with Fuel into Hudaydah Port, Alleviating the Suffering of the People and Improving the Humanitarian Situation (11 October 2019)

The Houthi militias caused 10 ships loaded with fuel to be stopped outside of Hudaydah Port.  This was because (1) the Houthis sought to ensure the failure of efforts to implement the Stockholm Agreement, and (2) prevented traders from adhering to Cabinet Decree No. 49 of 2019, which aims at collecting tax and customs fees, as well as other legal revenues, to enable payment to civil servant salaries in the areas under the control of the Houthi militias.

Therefore, the Government of Yemen, in order to alleviate the suffering of the people and improve the humanitarian situation in these areas, respond to the demands of specialized international organizations, and support of the efforts of the UN Special Envoy to implement the Stockholm Agreement, proposes granting the ten ships, loaded with fuel outside Hudaydah Port, permits to enter the port and unload their shipment in it as long as the following criteria are met:

1. Adherence to the previous criteria in Cabinet Decree No. 75 of 2018;
2. That the traders importing the ten shipments adhere to paying all taxes, customs, and other revenues, in cash and based on Circular No. 5 of the Economic Committee (and using the deposit document issued by the Technical Office), to the Central Bank of Yemen branch in Hudaydah, and that they provide the documents proving that this has been carried out;
3. That the Houthi militias are obligated to allow traders to complete the procedures necessary to get an import permit from the government, which is issued by the Technical Office of the Economic Committee. The Houthis must not stop the traders from submitting any of the required documents or the payment slips for the fees in accordance with the system in use in the rest of the ports of the Republic of Yemen;
4. Providing a report twice a month on the balances of the treasuries in the Central Bank branch in Hudaydah, as well as the balances in the accounts used to collect these fees;
5. That the United Nations play its role, and bears its responsibility, to oversee these funds in the Central Bank of Yemen branch in Hudaydah in order to ensure that these funds are not withdrawn or used for any purpose other than the payment of civil servant salaries based on a mechanism that will be completed and agreed upon;
6. The United Nations must play its role and bear its responsibility to ensure that the Houthi militias do not impose or collect any fees, funds, or other dues from the fuel traders.

The current discussions regarding the implementation of Decree No. 49 in Hudaydah Port with the United Nations will continue. This this initiative is only covering the ships that are currently stopped outside of Hudaydah Port. Any future shipments must adhere to the criteria set by Decree No. 49 and be in accordance with the mechanism that will be agreed upon and approved with the United Nations at a later stage.

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GoY initiative Hodeida Ships en