Publications

Analysis July 15, 2024 06:23 MIN Quarterly: April-June 2024 What a New President and a Looming Succession Means for Iran’s Yemen Policy By Thomas Juneau The death of the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, as well as the foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, in a helicopter accident on May 19 raises the question of the impact of their disappearance from the scene on the country’s foreign policy regarding Yemen. The answer for the short term is straightforward: Raisi’s death will have a marginal impact on the country’s foreign policy, in general and specifically in Yemen. In the mid to longer term, however, the situation becomes less clear because of the eventual succession to the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is 85 years old and has had cancer. Because Raisi was a potential candidate to succeed him, his death changed the dynamics… Continue reading Yemen Review section July 15, 2024 07:11 MIN Quarterly: April-June 2024 Houthis Face Mounting Criticism Over Harmful Pesticides By Sana’a Center Staff Following the widespread dissemination of leaked documents and a very public debate on the risks of agricultural pesticides, including accusations that Houthi leaders are involved in the trade of banned chemicals, Mahdi al-Mashat, the head of the group’s Supreme Political Council, addressed the thorny issue on May 19. Al-Mashat spoke during a meeting with leaders from the Ministries of Agriculture and Irrigation and the Environmental Protection Authority and other officials from the Houthi authorities in Sana’a. He dismissed public concerns over the use of banned pesticides and their potentially harmful effects on public health and the environment, characterizing the concerns as part of an international conspiracy. Al-Mashat noted that the pesticide methyl bromide had been used around the world before… Continue reading Yemen Review section July 15, 2024 40:18 MIN Quarterly: April-June 2024 The Economy — The Yemen Review, Quarterly: April-June 2024 By Wadhah Al-Awlaqi Yemen's already fractured financial system faces a dangerous escalation as its rival central banks engage in a high-stakes power struggle, threatening a full-blown currency war. On March 31, the Houthi-controlled Central Bank in Sana'a (CBY-Sana'a) made a controversial decision to introduce a new coin to replace deteriorating 100 rial banknotes. The governor of the CBY-Sana’a claimed the move was simply intended to replace damaged banknotes and would not affect exchange rates. While he claimed the bank was operating transparently and committed to stabilizing the economy, key details, including the number of replaced banknotes, remain unclear. The lack of information regarding the quantity of coins and their potential impact on existing liquidity raises concerns about inflation. There is concern that their… Continue reading Yemen Review section July 15, 2024 12:41 MIN Quarterly: April-June 2024 Military and Security — The Yemen Review, Quarterly: April-June 2024 By William Clough In assessing the situation in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in early April, one might have said Operations Prosperity Guardian and Aspides, the US- and EU-led coalitions tasked with defending the seas from Houthi attacks on commercial vessels, were achieving their declared goals. Attacks on ships were down, and Pentagon officials even speculated that the Houthis could be running out of munitions. But appraising events at the end of June, the facts on the ground now paint a very different picture. Houthi maritime attacks are at an all-time high, and the group is boasting a surprisingly advanced arsenal that has made their attacks more accurate and lethal. At the same time, US officials overseeing the numerous warships protecting… Continue reading Yemen Review section July 15, 2024 08:13 MIN Quarterly: April-June 2024 Politics and Diplomacy — The Yemen Review, Quarterly: April-June 2024 By Casey Coombs Ongoing Houthi maritime attacks and security crackdowns in northern Yemen have given Prime Minister Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak and members of the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) plenty of reasons to band together and strengthen their position in the face of the common enemy. But popular protests over electricity shortages in southern governorates and disagreements over the appointment of a new foreign affairs minister tested the government’s willingness and ability to form a united front. In late March, PLC chief Rashad al-Alimi signed a republican decree appointing Yemen’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Shaya al-Zindani, as the new foreign minister amid quiet disapproval from several PLC members and his predecessor, Bin Mubarak, who felt like the appointment was not in their best… Continue reading Main Publications July 9, 2024 24:22 MIN From Vulnerability to Empowerment: The Future of Social Protection in Yemen By Ziad Saad, and Ziad al-Hassan Yemen's social protection system is failing to support its population adequately. Years of conflict have left millions vulnerable, struggling with poverty, hunger, and displacement. This is due to two main issues: a fragmented structure lacking a central governing body and chronic funding instability. These problems lead to a cascade of negative consequences. Firstly, the fragmented system creates inefficiencies, unequal resource distribution, and unclear accountability. Decades of conflict and economic hardship have created a complex web of vulnerabilities among the population, yet the current social safety net is inadequate. Outdated targeting mechanisms and insufficient needs assessments exclude deserving beneficiaries, while weak monitoring and evaluation methods fail to capture program impact and hinder improvement efforts. Existing programs primarily address immediate needs, neglecting… Continue reading Editorial July 2, 2024 03:09 MIN Quarterly: April-June 2024 The Houthi Crackdown on Yemeni Voices and Civil Society: Silence is Not an Option The arrests of dozens of Yemeni aid and NGO workers in recent weeks on allegations of spying for the United States and Israel is no run-of-the-mill crackdown on civil society, but an unprecedented assault that breaks the social norms of political engagement in Yemeni culture. Never have the repressive practices of previous regimes stooped to rounding up dozens of employees of local and international aid organizations that had been working with official approval for years, including the UN, World Bank, and foreign embassies. Whole families, including children, are being held. A series of dramatic TV ‘confessions’ have been aired, humiliating Yemenis who have been in incommunicado detention without formal indictments. After years of serving the country diligently for the sake… Continue reading Analysis June 5, 2024 34:33 MIN Houthi Media: A Study in Ideological Warfare By Burhan Ahmed In April 2023, a Saudi delegation was invited to visit the Houthi-held capital of Sana’a. Over the next couple of days, the media arm of the Houthi group (Ansar Allah) distributed a series of photographs to international and local media outlets featuring Mahdi al-Mashat, head of the Houthi Supreme Political Council, smiling warmly in a stately reception hall and shaking the hand of Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Yemen, Mohammed bin Saeed al-Jaber. These photos were extensively reprinted, appearing on NBC, Reuters, BBC, and Al-Arabiya, as well as in local outlets from the Baltics to Beijing. This sleek image of Houthi diplomacy is far from the militant and adversarial rhetoric circulated by founder Hussein al-Houthi and the outrage voiced by insurgent… Continue reading Analysis May 31, 2024 19:13 MIN Batarfi’s Death and Al-Qaeda in Yemen’s New Emir: What Comes Next? By Assim al-Sabri Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) made a surprise announcement on March 10, 2024, publicizing the death of its leader, Khaled Batarfi, and the appointment of Saad al-Awlaqi as his successor. Al-Qaeda’s official statement, delivered by jihadist leader Khabib al-Sudani, did not disclose any details about the manner of Batarfi’s death. This might be the first time that news of the death of a senior Al-Qaeda leader was shrouded in such mystery. In the past, the United States was the first to announce the assassination of jihadist leaders – as happened with former AQAP leaders Nasser al-Wuhayshi and Qassim al-Raymi, as well as with global Al-Qaeda leaders Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri. Al-Qaeda would then deny the news, or… Continue reading News May 15, 2024 02:42 MIN YPF Members Discuss Youth and Civil Society Peace Priorities with the UN and the International Community Members of the Yemen Peace Forum (YPF) initiative, a track II youth and civil society platform, held extensive meetings in Amman with UN officials and representatives from the international community. The meetings were held as part of the Sana'a Center’s efforts to provide Yemeni youth and CSOs with the opportunity to engage with key international stakeholders, and ensure their perspective on peace in Yemen is heard. 55 YPF members representing 17 Yemeni governorates, 28 of whom were youth along with 27 civil society representatives, were brought together in Amman from April 21-23. YPF members met with Mr. Sarhad Fatah, Deputy Head of Mission for the Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen; H.E. Gabriel Munuera Viñals, the… Continue reading Publications May 15, 2024 41:12 MIN The Role of the Judiciary in Achieving Transitional Justice and Reconciliation in Yemen By Mohammed Al-Shuwaiter An almost decade-long conflict has severely impacted Yemen's judiciary, weakening its already fragile infrastructure and further undermining its competence and credibility. Additionally, the judiciary has faced political polarization, diminishing trust in its neutrality and casting doubt on its ability to handle politically sensitive cases associated with transitional justice post-conflict. Notwithstanding the challenges, efforts must be exerted for the judiciary to assume a foundational role in post-conflict Yemen and serve as a channel for restoring the rule of law and reinstating public trust in state institutions. Following a comprehensive review of the transitional justice landscape in Yemen, including an examination of the outcomes of the National Dialogue Conference, Yemen’s 2015 draft constitution, the draft transitional justice laws from 2012 and 2014,… Continue reading News May 11, 2024 00:57 MIN Sana’a Center Delegation Meets with Policy Makers in Geneva and Bern A delegation of senior experts from the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies undertook an advocacy mission to Geneva and Bern, Switzerland, where they met with key Swiss stakeholders involved in peacebuilding and humanitarian development in Yemen. Conducted between April 30th and May 1st, the goal of the mission was to discuss developments in the Red Sea and present the international community with policy recommendations to operationalize the ‘humanitarian-development-peace’ framework in Yemen. During their trip, the experts met with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, as well as key INGOs such as the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF) and Geneva Call. They also shared the findings from a recent Sana’a… Continue reading