But there's an ethical concern. It's coming from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, two countries that have helped fuel Yemen's conflict. "It's good news, but ironic that it's coming from big warring parties," says Paul Spiegel, a former senior official at the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees and a professor at Johns Hopkins University. "If they had given peace, [Yemen] wouldn't need their billion dollars." The funds from the two countries cover almost a third of the $2.96 billion required to implement the U.N.'s budget to help Yemen in 2018. An additional billion in funding was secured yesterday at a U.N. pledging conference in Geneva. The money will be disbursed to local and international aid groups in Yemen. Some in the aid sector welcome the money.
In a meeting in New York last week, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed his "deep gratitude" to Prince Mohamad Bin Salman Al Saud, Saudi Arabia's crown prince. But he went on to urge the Saudi government to protect civilians, abide by the rules of war and lift the blockade on Yemen's ports. Saudi Arabia and UAE are indeed players in Yemen's complicated civil war. The conflict began as an internal fight between rebels and Yemen's government, but escalated when Saudi Arabia intervened on behalf of Yemen's government to fight the Houthi rebels, who are backed by Iran.
Yemeni women carry blankets and lanterns distributed by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Sanaa, Yemen.
Rights organizations like Human Rights Watch have criticized the Saudi-led military coalition, which includes the United Arab Emirates, for launching "indiscriminate and disproportionate" aerial and ground campaigns. The Saudi-led coalition has also enforced an on-again, off-again blockade to prevent aid and commercial goods from entering the country. It's for these reasons that some aid workers in Yemen say the U.N. should not accept the money. Nathanael Chouraqui is a lead Middle East researcher at Iguacu, a nonprofit that conducts research to profile charities in countries like Yemen. He has been speaking with local charity representatives about the donation.
Yahya Nasser, who works at a relief organization in Yemen, told Chouraqui, "We should not accept this money ... It's just an attempt to cover the crimes they are committing in Yemen." In her interview with Chouraqui, Amal Wahish, executive manager at Capable Youth Foundation, a small NGO in Sanaa, Yemen's capital, agrees. "This money should be rejected," she told Chouraqui. "It makes Saudi Arabia stronger — gives them a good image to the international community — and allows them to continue their work in Yemen." "The U.N. should make bigger efforts to stop the conflict," she adds. Nasser and Wahish confirmed their statements in an email to NPR. But there are differing opinions in Yemen.
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