6. Oktober 2023

Kurzbeschreibungen zu den in dieser Anfragebeantwortung verwendeten Quellen sowie Ausschnitte mit Informationen aus diesen Quellen finden Sie im Anhang.

Möglichkeiten von und Voraussetzungen für Ausreise aus dem Jemen vom internationalen Flughafen Sanaa im Zeitraum von 2020 bis 2023

Laut Human Rights Watch (HRW) habe am 16. Mai 2022 der erste kommerzielle Flug seit sechs Jahren Saana im Rahmen des von den Vereinten Nationen unterstützten Waffenstillstandes, der auch die Wiedereröffnung des internationalen Flughafens von Sanaa für kommerzielle Flüge vorgesehen habe, verlassen. Bis Mitte August 2022 seien mehr als 15.000 Passagier·innen im Rahmen von 31 Hin- und Rückflügen von und nach Sanaa gereist (HRW, 12. Jänner 2023).

Der internationale Flughafen Sanaa sei 2016 für den kommerziellen Flugverkehr geschlossen worden und nur humanitäre Flüge der Vereinten Nationen seien erlaubt gewesen (USDOS, 12. April 2022, Section 2d).

Das deutsche Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge berichtet im Mai 2022, dass am 16. Mai 2022 der erste kommerzielle Flug seit 2015 von Sanaa nach Amman in Jordanien durchgeführt worden sei:

„Am 16.05.22 ist der erste kommerzielle Flug von Sanaa ins jordanische Amman durchgeführt worden. Der ursprünglich bereits für den 24.04.22 geplante Flug konnte nicht stattfinden, da die international anerkannte Regierung Jemens die Startgenehmigung verwehrt hatte (vgl. BN v. 25.04.22). Grund dafür war Uneinigkeit bezüglich der Nutzung von Reisepässen, welche durch Houthi-Behörden ausgestellt wurden. Die Vereinbarung sieht nun vor, dass Inhabern mit jenen Pässen bei Ankunft in Amman ein neuer Reisepass durch die international anerkannte Regierung Jemens ausgestellt wird. Die Wiederaufnahme des kommerziellen Flugverkehrs ist Teil der seit 02.04.22 gültigen Waffenstillstandsvereinbarung und sieht wöchentliche Verbindungen nach Amman/Jordanien und Kairo/Ägypten vor. Die Flugverbindung aus Sanaa stellt die erste direkte Ein- und Ausreisemöglichkeit per Luft aus den von den Houthis kontrollierten Gebieten seit 2015 dar.“ (BMAF, 23. Mai 2022, S. 6)

Im Schreiben eines Expert·innenpanels für den Jemen an den Sicherheitsrat der Vereinten Nationen (UN Security Council) vom Februar 2023 wird darauf hingewiesen, dass eine der positiven Folgen des Waffenstillstands die Wiederaufnahme einer begrenzten Zahl kommerzieller Flüge von Sanaa aus gewesen sei. Im Zeitraum 16. Mai bis Ende November 2022 habe es mehrere Flüge zwischen Sanaa und Amman gegeben. Dabei seien 21.879 Passagiere von Sanaa nach Amman gereist und 20.652 Passagiere seien aus Amman in Sanaa angekommen. Es habe einen Hin- und Rückflug nach Kairo gegeben, der am 1. Juni 2022 durchgeführt worden sei (UN Security Council, 21. Februar 2023).

Laut eines Berichts des Amts der Vereinten Nationen für die Koordinierung humanitärer Angelegenheiten (UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, UN OCHA) hätten seit dem mit 2. April 2022 begonnenem Waffenstillstand und der folgenden Öffnung des Flughafens Sanaa für kommerzielle Flüge rund 26.640 Personen mit kommerziellen Flügen von Sanaa aus reisen können hätten. Darunter seien viele Schwerkranke gewesen, die im Ausland medizinische Hilfe gesucht hätten. Der erste von der Internationalen Organisation für Migration (IOM) organisierte Flug für freiwillige Rückkehrer·innen sei am 11. Oktober 2022 mit 129 äthiopischen Migrant·innen an Bord von Sanaa abgeflogen (UN OCHA, 15. November 2022, S. 4-5).

Im Oktober 2023 berichtet The Arab Weekly, dass laut Vertreter·innen von Jemens nationaler Fluglinie diese ihre internationale kommerzielle Flugverbindung vom Flughafen Sanaa nach Jordanien vorübergehend einstellen werde. Dies sei eine Reaktion auf gescheiterte Verhandlungen mit den Huthi-Behörden, die das Unternehmen daran hindern würden, auf Banken in Sanaa liegendes Unternehmenskapital abzuheben (The Arab Weekly, 1. Oktober 2023).

Möglichkeiten für Zivilpersonen, von Sanaa nach Aden zu reisen

Im Dezember 2022 weist eine Gruppe von Sonderberichterstatter·innen der Vereinten Nationen und eine Vertreterin der Arbeitsgruppe der Vereinten Nationen zur Diskriminierung von Frauen und Mädchen in einem Schreiben an die Huthi-Behörden darauf hin, dass Berichten zufolge im August 2022 die Huthi-Regulierungsbehörde für den Landverkehr im August 2022 eine Anweisung herausgegeben habe, wonach es Frauen nicht mehr erlaubt sei, ohne Begleitung eines Mahram [eines männlichen Familienmitglieds oder Vormunds, Anm. ACCORD] innerhalb der von den Huthi kontrollierten Gebieten zu reisen. Auch Reisen in Gebiete, die unter der Kontrolle der anerkannten Regierung des Jemen stünden, oder Auslandsreisen seien ohne Mahram verboten. Man habe Berichte von Frauen aus Sanaa erhalten, wonach Autoverleihfirmen sich weigern würden, Frauen ohne Mahram ein Fahrzeug zu vermieten, um von Sanaa nach Aden zu fahren. Sie würden sich auch weigern, Frauen einen Reiseplatz in einem Fahrzeug zu verkaufen. Dies sei eine Verschärfung früherer Bestimmungen, wonach die schriftliche Einwilligung eines Mahrams notwendig gewesen sei, nicht aber seine Begleitung (HRC, 2. Dezember 2022, S. 2; siehe auch Sanaa Center for Strategic Studies, 16. Jänner 2023).

HRW berichtet im Juli 2023, dass eine Menschenrechtsorganisation im Jemen vier Fälle von Frauen dokumentiert habe, die von den Huthi-Behörden daran gehindert worden seien, von unter Kontrolle der Huthi stehenden Gebieten nach Aden zu reisen, weil sie nicht in Begleitung eines Mahram gewesen seien. In Folge hätten die Frauen nicht vom Flughafen Aden aus ins Ausland reisen können (HRW, Juli 2023, S. 116).

The New Arab beschreibt im Oktober 2021, dass die Reise von Sanaa nach Aden oder Taiz mindestens zehn Stunden dauern würde, fünf Stunden mehr als vor dem Krieg. Reisende seien nicht nur mit dem schlechten Zustand der Straßen konfrontiert, sondern würden auch bei jedem Anhalten an einem der Checkpoints der diversen Kriegsparteien unter psychologischem Druck stehen. Dort würden sie nach ihrer Identität, dem Ziel und Grund ihrer Reise befragt. Einige würden auch festgenommen, wegen der Region, aus der sie stammen, oder weil man Verdacht hinsichtlich ihrer politischen Sympathien hätte (The New Arab, 18. Oktober 2021). In einem Reisebericht von Dezember 2022 beschreibt eine Journalistin, dass sie während der Reise von Aden nach Sanaa rund 40 Checkpoints unter Kontrolle der verschiedenen Kriegsparteien passiert habe (Al Jazeera, 18. Dezember 2022). Im Jänner 2023 erwähnt das Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies in einem Bericht 62 Checkpoints auf der Strecke von Aden nach Sanaa, die es im August 2019 gegeben habe. Die Lage habe sich seitdem nicht verbessert (Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies, 16. Jänner 2023). Auch ein Bericht vom Mai 2023 beschreibt die kriegsbedingt gesperrten wichtigsten Verbindungsrouten, die schlechten Straßenbedingungen der Ausweichrouten sowie die Präsenz zahlreicher Checkpoints auf der Strecke von Aden nach Sanaa. Viele Jemenit·innen würden Mietwagen-Unternehmen in Anspruch nehmen, um sich das Reisen im Land zu erleichtern, da diese sich um die Checkpoints kümmern würden. Diese Art zu reisen sei teuer wie ein Flug, aber sie biete den Reisenden ein gewisses Maß an Sicherheit (Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies, 15. Mai 2023).

Quellen: (Zugriff auf alle Quellen am 6. Oktober 2023)

·      Al Jazeera: ‘Republic of fear’: A return to Yemen after 11 years, 18. Dezember 2022
https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2022/12/18/republic-of-fear-a-return-to-yemen-after-11-years

·      Arab Weekly (The): Yemenia suspends flights from Sana’a after failure of talks with Houthis, 1. Oktober 2023
https://thearabweekly.com/yemenia-suspends-flights-sanaa-after-failure-talks-houthis

·      BAMF – Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge: Briefing Notes, 23. Mai 2022
https://www.bamf.de/SharedDocs/Anlagen/DE/Behoerde/Informationszentrum/BriefingNotes/2022/briefingnotes-kw21-2022.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=4

·      HRC – Human Rights Council: Mandates of the Working Group on discrimination against women and girls; the Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights; the Special Rapporteur on the right to education; the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health; the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief and the Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences, [AL OTH 124/2022], 2. Dezember 2022 (verfügbar über OHCHR)
https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=27718

·      HRW - Human Rights Watch : World Report 2023 – Yemen, 12. Jänner 2023
https://www.ecoi.net/en/document/2085517.html

·      HRW – Human Rights Watch: Trapped. How Male Guardianship Policies Restrict Women’s Travel and Mobility in the Middle East and North Africa, Juli 2023
https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/2095071/wrd_mena0723+web_0.pdf 

·      New Arab (The): Militias, flash floods, and landslides: The risks of travelling in Yemen, 18. Oktober 2021
https://www.newarab.com/analysis/road-yemen-militias-flash-floods-and-landslides

·      Sana'a Center For Strategic Studies: The War on Yemen’s Roads, 16. Jänner 2023
https://sanaacenter.org/publications/main-publications/19304

·      Sana'a Center For Strategic Studies: Returning Home: An Arduous Journey to a Changed Yemen - The Yemen Review, April 2023, 15. Mai 2023
https://sanaacenter.org/the-yemen-review/april-2023/20184

·      UN OCHA – UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: Yemen Humanitarian Update - Issue 10/ October 2022, 15. November 2022 (verfügbar auf Reliefweb)
https://reliefweb.int/attachments/5509d4e5-d0b7-4c70-966e-139afe0914d9/Yemen%20Humanitarian%20Update_October_2022_Final.pdf

·      UN Security Council: Letter dated 21 February 2023 from the Panel of Experts on Yemen addressed to the President of the Security Council; Final report of the Panel of Experts on Yemen established pursuant to Security Council resolution 2140 (2014), [S/2022/50], 21. Februar 2023
https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/2088405/N2277093.pdf

·      USDOS – US Department of State: 2021 Country Report on Human Rights Practices: Yemen, 12. April 2022
https://www.ecoi.net/en/document/2071195.html

 

Anhang: Quellenbeschreibungen und Informationen aus ausgewählten Quellen

Al Jazeera ist ein in Qatar ansässiger arabischer Nachrichtensender.

·      Al Jazeera: ‘Republic of fear’: A return to Yemen after 11 years, 18. Dezember 2022
https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2022/12/18/republic-of-fear-a-return-to-yemen-after-11-years

„The trip from Aden to Sanaa was never an easy one – it passes from Yemen’s southern coast through the mountains, along winding roads with huge drops, and some of the most beautiful scenery you’ll see, the landscape changing from Ibb’s green mountains, to Dhamar’s fields, and then to the dustier, and yet still majestic, mountains of Sanaa.

That beauty was still there, but the trip was now far harder to make.

To avoid front lines, the route takes several detours, sometimes along roads that can barely be described as such, which occasionally flood in the summer rainy season.

Many have lost their lives along these treacherous passages – secondary casualties of this brutal war. Another cause of significant delays: the approximately 40 checkpoints we had to pass through along the road that belonged to the various parties to the conflict.

These checkpoints leave you drained, not only because of the gruelling interrogations that take place there, but also because of the realisation that you’re in a divided country, and Yemen is no longer a united land.” (Al Jazeera, 18. Dezember 2022)

The Arab Weekly ist eine englischsprachige, in London herausgegebene Zeitung.

·      Arab Weekly (The): Yemenia suspends flights from Sana’a after failure of talks with Houthis, 1. Oktober 2023
https://thearabweekly.com/yemenia-suspends-flights-sanaa-after-failure-talks-houthis

„Yemen’s national airline will suspend the only international commercial flight from Yemen’s capital Sana’a in response to the Houthi administration blocking the carrier from withdrawing its funds in Sana’a banks, four company executives, speaking on condition of anonymity, said.

Yemenia will halt six weekly flights to Jordan in October, the company officials said, after negotiations with the Houthis failed to secure the release of airline funds which executives at the carrier said amounted to $80 million.” (The Arab Weekly, 1. Oktober 2023)

·      HRC – Human Rights Council: Mandates of the Working Group on discrimination against women and girls; the Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights; the Special Rapporteur on the right to education; the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health; the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief and the Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences, [AL OTH 124/2022], 2. Dezember 2022 (verfügbar über OHCHR)
https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=27718

„It was reported that in August 2022, Ansar Allah's Land Transport Regulatory Authority (LTRA) issued a verbal directive stating that a woman was not permitted to travel unaccompanied by a mahram within Ansar Allah-controlled governorates, to Government of Yemen (GoY)-controlled areas, or even outside the country. Consequently, reports were received from women in Sana’a indicating that car rental agencies were refusing to rent vehicles to women without a mahram to drive from Sana’a to Aden or sell spaces for travel in vehicles. This represents a tightening of restrictions since July 2022, when the LTRA directed travel and car rental offices to obtain written consent by a mahram, attested by the neighborhood leader, aqil, but did not require an accompanying mahram.” (HRC, 2. Dezember 2022, S. 2)

Human Rights Watch (HRW) ist eine internationale Menschenrechtsorganisation mit Sitz in New York City, die sich für den weltweiten Schutz der Menschenrechte einsetzt.

·      HRW - Human Rights Watch: World Report 2023 – Yemen, 12. Jänner 2023
https://www.ecoi.net/en/document/2085517.html

„On May 16, the first commercial flight in six years departed Sanaa, as part of the UN-backed truce which included an agreement to reopen Sanaa International Airport for commercial flights. By mid-August, more than 15,000 passengers had travelled to and from Sanaa on 31 round-trip flights.” (HRW, 12. Jänner 2023)

·      HRW – Human Rights Watch: Trapped. How Male Guardianship Policies Restrict Women’s Travel and Mobility in the Middle East and North Africa, Juli 2023
https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/2095071/wrd_mena0723+web_0.pdf 

„In addition, the UN reported that in August 2022, the Houthi’s Land Transport Regulatory Authority issued restrictions in areas they control requiring that women no longer be permitted to travel outside the country without a mahram. Yemeni women usually go to Aden airport, which is not under Houthi control, to travel abroad without a mahram. However, Mwatana for Human Rights told Human Rights Watch that they documented four cases of women who could not travel abroad from Aden airport because Houthi authorities prevented them from traveling to Aden from Houthi-controlled territory as they did not have a mahram to accompany them.” (HRW, Juli 2023, S 116)

The New Arab ist ein 2014 in London gegründetes Medienunternehmen.

·      New Arab (The): Militias, flash floods, and landslides: The risks of travelling in Yemen, 18. Oktober 2021
https://www.newarab.com/analysis/road-yemen-militias-flash-floods-and-landslides

„The journey from Sanaa to Aden or Taiz in southern Yemen takes ten hours at least: five hours more than it would have taken before the war. Muhammed Al-Dub'i, who works in a private business in Sanaa, said: ‘I visited my family in Taiz last Eid al-Adha, and the journey took more than 10 hours. As well as the physical hardship and the risks from the poor state of the roads, travellers are under huge psychological pressure whenever they are stopped at checkpoints belonging to either side of the conflict, where they face questions about their identity, where they are going and why. Some will be arrested because of the region they're from or because of suspicions about their political sympathies’.

From Sanaa to Aden, travellers are forced to travel through Taiz, and from there head through the often flooded roads of Hayfan. They then need nine hours to cross the city of Al-Turbah and travel the precipitous and dangerously winding road of Hayjat Al-Abed, which will take them into Lahj. […]

On the Taiz-Aden road, there are more than 20 military checkpoints, some of which belong to government forces and others to the STC. On the Aden-Mukalla route, there are more than 30 checkpoints. Many of them are simply looking to charge a crossing fee, however, travellers are subject to the whim of whoever is manning the checkpoint. They may face interrogation, the ransacking of their belongings and even arrest, or they may be allowed to cross peacefully with no problems.” (The New Arab, 18. Oktober 2021)

Das Sana’a Center For Strategic Studies ist ein 2014 gegründeter, auf den Jemen und die umliegende Region spezialisierter Think Tank mit Sitz in Sanaa.

·      Sana'a Center For Strategic Studies: The War on Yemen’s Roads, 16. Jänner 2023
https://sanaacenter.org/publications/main-publications/19304

„Yemeni women in Houthi-controlled areas face tightening travel restrictions due to mahram (guardianship) requirements. When issued in March 2022, the mahram policy required complex and costly procedures to obtain consent from a male relative, which also had to be certified by a number of Houthi officials, before a woman could travel. Since then, the rules have become stricter; the physical presence of a mahram is now often required during a woman’s travels even if she has obtained the necessary documents to travel alone. Women who are deemed not to have met these requirements may be detained at a checkpoint until a mahram comes to pick her up. If she is a political activist, an employee of a non-governmental organization (NGO), or is affiliated with a political party opposed to the Houthis, she may be detained for multiple days, forced to pay a bribe, and sign documents pledging to follow the rule in the future. It has become increasingly clear that the mahram requirements are aimed at reducing the participation of women in civil society. […]

In November 2018 and April 2019, two stretches of road along the eastern route were closed in northern Al-Dhalea’s Damt district due to frontline fighting. Civilian traffic from Sana’a to Aden was then redirected westward to the road through Ibb and Taiz, which Houthi forces had closed briefly in March 2015. However, by this time, delays on the redirected route were much longer due to closures since 2016 in northern Lahj (see ‘Route Check: Between Aden and Taiz…’). Because the road was not suitable for large trucks, they had to reroute through either the Red Sea coastal city of Al-Mokha and then follow the coastal highway to Aden, or drive through Al-Bayda to its southwestern border with Lahj, where frontline fighting often closes roads. In August 2019, a Sana’a Center employee reported passing 62 checkpoints on the drive from Aden to Sana’a.[27] The situation has not improved since then.” (Sana’a Center, 16. Jänner 2023)

·      Sana'a Center For Strategic Studies: Returning Home: An Arduous Journey to a Changed Yemen - The Yemen Review, April 2023, 15. Mai 2023
https://sanaacenter.org/the-yemen-review/april-2023/20184

„The flight from Amman took three-and-a-half hours, landing in Aden in the early hours of the morning. My older brother came to pick me up and accompany me on the 16-hour car journey home. We headed straight to Sana’a, stopping just once, at 3 am, to buy the popular Adeni delicacies of Khobz al-Tawa and Chai Adeni (thick flatbread and sweetened milk tea). Our driver, who knew the roads well, advised us not to waste time in Aden so as to avoid problems at checkpoints. In his experience, nighttime was the best time to travel, a time when soldiers didn’t ask too many questions, giving us a better chance of avoiding being detained for hours.

The hired car was from one of the companies now widely used to travel the country. Yemenis use these outfits to facilitate their journeys, since they deal with the multitude of checkpoints extending from Aden to Sana’a, and on to other cities in Yemen. It’s an expensive way to travel – as expensive as a flight – but it provides travelers with a modicum of safety on the roads. […]

Yemen’s main highways have been closed off by the warring parties due to their proximity to the frontlines, to block access to opposing forces, or because of damage incurred in the conflict. Motorists now take alternative roads that are often unpaved, remote, and unsuitable for high volumes of traffic or heavy vehicles. These remote secondary roads often have limited mobile and internet coverage, roadside amenities, or emergency rescue services. […]

We continued driving north, navigating the various checkpoints, which made the difficult journey even harder. After the twentieth, I stopped counting. Were it not for the desperate need to work or travel, no one in their right mind would put up with these conditions.” (Sana’a Center, 15. Mai 2023)

·      UN OCHA – UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: Yemen Humanitarian Update - Issue 10/ October 2022, 15. November 2022 (verfügbar auf Reliefweb)
https://reliefweb.int/attachments/5509d4e5-d0b7-4c70-966e-139afe0914d9/Yemen%20Humanitarian%20Update_October_2022_Final.pdf

„The truce, which first came into effect on 2 April 2022, saw a significant reduction in hostilities and internal displacement; improved humanitarian access to people in need living in previously hard-to-reach areas; and encouraged the return of some of the internally displaced people to their original communities in areas near the frontlines. It also increased the availability of fuel - particularly in areas controlled by Ansar Allah. It also led to the opening of Sana’a airport to commercial flights, promoted human capital mobility in search of better labour opportunities and enhanced access to goods and services due to ease of transport. Some 26,640 people have been able to travel on commercial flights from Sana'a, many critically ill seeking medical treatment abroad.“ (UN OCHA, 15. November 2022, S. 4)

„The International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) first Voluntary Humanitarian Return (VHR) flight from Sana’a took off on 11 October, with 129 Ethiopian migrants on board. The movement to Addis Ababa is an important lifeline for stranded migrants, seeking a safe and dignified way to return home from Yemen. The flight carried migrants – including unaccompanied minors and those with medical conditions and other specific needs – who were left stranded as a result of insecurity and restrictions on their movement.” (UN OCHA, 15. November 2022, S. 5)

·      UN Security Council: Letter dated 21 February 2023 from the Panel of Experts on Yemen addressed to the President of the Security Council; Final report of the Panel of Experts on Yemen established pursuant to Security Council resolution 2140 (2014), [S/2022/50], 21. Februar 2023
https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/2088405/N2277093.pdf

„Among the positive outcomes of the truce were the resumption of imports of oil and oil derivatives through the port of Hudaydah, which addressed the needs of the people in Houthi-controlled areas, and the resumption of a limited number of commercial flights from Sana’a. An initial roadblock that emerged concerning the issuance of passports to passengers was addressed, with the Government agreeing to the international travel of individuals on passports issued by the Houthis. This greatly benefited individuals seeking to travel abroad for humanitarian needs. From 16 May until the end of November, there were several flights between Sana’a and Amman, with 21,879 passengers departing from Sana’a to Amman and 20,652 passengers arriving at Sana’a from Amman. There was only one round-trip flight between Sana’a and Cairo, on 1 June.“ (UN Security Council, 21. Februar 2023, S. 7)

Das US Department of State (USDOS) ist das US-amerikanische Außenministerium.

·      USDOS – US Department of State: 2021 Country Report on Human Rights Practices: Yemen, 12. April 2022
https://www.ecoi.net/en/document/2071195.html

„Foreign Travel: The Houthi takeover of Sana’a in 2014 and the government of Yemen’s relocation to Aden in 2015 left no official government authority in control of Sana’a airport customs or immigration functions. In 2016 the Saudi-led coalition ordered the closure of Sana’a International Airport to commercial traffic, permitting only UN [United Nations] humanitarian flights, thereby preventing thousands of local citizens from traveling abroad. Those who needed to leave the country attempted alternative routes that required long journeys across active front lines at high risk and cost.“ (USDOS, 12. April 2022, Section 2d)