Sanctions Profile: Yemen

The sanctions were established in response to reports of serious human rights abuses and violence against civilians in the country, the recruitment of children by armed groups and Yemeni Government forces, and the use of media to incite violence and frustrate the people’s “legitimate aspirations for peaceful change”.

EU sanctions on Yemen were first imposed in December 2014, by Council Regulation 1352/2014 and Council Decision 2014/932/CFSP. The EU sanctions regime on Yemen was put in place to implement the newly instituted UN sanctions regime (Resolution 2140), and comprised an asset freeze and travel ban on listed individuals. The designation criteria are the same as set out in the UN’s sanctions regime, and the EU lists only those designated by the UN sanctions committee.

Summary of Current UN Sanctions:

Targeted

• Arms embargo
• Asset freeze
• Travel ban

Designation Criteria

Asset freeze & travel ban

People and entities determined by the Yemen Sanctions Committee established by Resolution 2140 to be engaging in or providing support for acts that threaten the peace, stability, or security of Yemen.

Arms embargo

The UN arms embargo on Yemen imposed by Resolution 2216 applies to:

1. Ali Abdullah Saleh, Abdullah Yahya Al Hakim, and Abd Al-Khaliq Al-Huthi;
2. people and entities designated by the Yemen Sanctions Committee, including under the designation criteria in Resolution 2140;
3. people and entities listed in the annex to Resolution 2216; and
4. people and entities acting on behalf or at the direction of the above or using their flag vessels or aircraft.

Summary of Current EU Sanctions:

Targeted

• Arms embargo
• Asset freeze
• Travel ban

Designation Criteria

People and entities designated by the Yemen Sanctions Committee established by Resolution 2140 for engaging in or providing support for acts that threaten the peace, security, or stability of Yemen, including but not limited to:

1. acts obstructing or undermining the successful completion of the political transition, as outlined in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Initiative and Implementation Mechanism Agreement;
2. acts impeding the implementation of the outcomes of the final report of the Comprehensive National Dialogue Conference through violence, or attacks on essential infrastructure;
3. planning, directing or committing acts that violate applicable international human rights law or international humanitarian law, or acts that constitute human rights abuses, in Yemen; and
4. acts violating the arms embargo imposed by Article 1 of Decision 2014/932/CFSP or obstructing the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Yemen or access to, or distribution of, humanitarian assistance in Yemen.