Publications

The Yemen Review April 9, 2024 11 Sections The Yemen Review Quarterly: January-March 2024 Yemen’s political and economic situation worsened in the first months of the year as the impacts of the Red Sea crisis, which began in November, began to manifest themselves. Peace talks between Saudi Arabia and the Houthi group (Ansar Allah) were effectively placed on hold, and the United States broadened its response to the Houthi attacks, launching strikes alongside the UK against Houthi targets inside Yemen and designating the Houthis as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist group (SDGT), which came into effect on February 16. The designation could impact not only Houthi military and economic activities but also risks a further stranglehold on international humanitarian work in Houthi-run territories, as banks and exchange firms stop dealing with Sana’a-based entities. In… Continue reading Main Publications March 24, 2024 09:09 MIN Engaging Victims in Peace-Making and Transitional Justice in Yemen By Marta Mendes, and Yazeed Al-Jeddawy We reject any political process that ignores our call for justice, or that seeks to compromise our demands in exchange for so-called political stability. Sustainable and lasting peace can only be achieved by welcoming reconciliation through justice. The Yemen Declaration for Justice and Reconciliation (2023) The overwhelming majority of Yemenis today are victims of an almost decade-long war. More than 370,000 lives have been lost, thousands detained, and millions displaced. On top of those directly impacted by the scourges of war, the psychological harm, deprivation of infrastructure and basic services, collapse of the health and educational systems, and the economic and social impact have led to a sense of collective grievance among Yemenis, many of whom believe that lasting peace… Continue reading News March 22, 2024 02:13 MIN Sana’a Center Delegation Meets Policymakers in the US A Sana’a Center delegation completed a policy tour to Washington DC and New York on March 14, where they met with US policymakers and UN member state representatives to discuss political and security developments in Yemen and the region. The visits coincide with the US assessing the repercussions of designating the Houthis (Ansar Allah) a Specially Designated Global Terrorist Group. While some policymakers believe this reclassification will obstruct the peace process and worsen the humanitarian situation for Yemenis, others are pushing to have the Houthis listed as a fully-fledged terrorist organization. Throughout the two weeks, the Sana’a Center’s senior representatives discussed the broad range of options for approaching the unabated Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. "Yemen is at a… Continue reading Main Publications March 21, 2024 31:19 MIN The Impact of Flooding on Agricultural Communities in Yemen By Musaed Aklan Yemen's agricultural communities face a perfect storm of growing ecological threats amid protracted conflict. Flash floods destroy farms, crops, and irrigation systems. Late rains risk drowning mature harvests, and waterlogged fields hinder root growth. Coastal areas battle salinization, and collapsed roads and buried wells hamper recovery. As flooding and changing rainfall patterns undermine yields, farmers struggle to sustain their livelihoods. Over half of Yemen's population is dependent on farming and agricultural work for income. Terrain altered by flooding has stirred tensions as property lines and irrigation channels shift, displacing communities already uprooted by the war. Traditional flood management faces pressure from uncoordinated development and fading communal cooperation, and information gaps persist due to outdated estimates and limited monitoring capacity. Stakeholders… Continue reading Main Publications March 20, 2024 19:06 MIN A War of Attrition: Higher Education in Yemen By Fahmi Khaled The war has broken many of the basic elements of Yemeni society — but the legacy of its now-shattered higher education system will endure far beyond the cessation of hostilities. Unpaid salaries, plummeting enrollment, and unregulated privatization have eroded the quality of Yemen’s higher education system and left it teetering on the brink of collapse. The consequences of this collapse are far-reaching, for educators, students, and the country at large, with economic and social effects that will be felt far into the future. Academics are struggling to cope with the basic costs of living without regular salary payments, and some have been forced to seek alternative employment not considered commensurate with their educational background and social status. As teachers have… Continue reading News March 20, 2024 02:36 MIN Sana’a Center and Columbia Law School Call for Transitional Justice at UN Last month, a team from the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies and The Columbia Law School Human Rights Clinic traveled to UN headquarters in Geneva to advocate for a transitional justice process in Yemen. Transitional justice is the first step in rebuilding broken trust in the rule of law following protracted conflicts. Reconciliation must start with the design and implementation of a functioning victim-centered transitional justice process. The team called for this crucial reform of the justice system during the Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Yemen. Yemen will be reviewed on May 1st, when Yemen’s official delegation will present their arguments before the Human Rights Council to address inquiries regarding compliance with human rights laws. Member states… Continue reading News March 18, 2024 01:30 MIN Development Report Launch Concludes in Amman, Jordan On March 14, 2024, the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies announced the launch of its latest report, titled "Development is Coming: Be Careful What You Wish For." This report is part of a series of publications which aim to assess the aid sector in Yemen, "Applying Economic Lenses and Local Perspectives to Improve Humanitarian Aid Delivery in Yemen," a project which is directed by the Sana’a Center and funded by the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation (SDC). The report launch was hosted by the Swiss Embassy in Amman, Jordan. This analysis, which was led by researchers Alex Harper, Dr. Nadia Al- Sakkaf, and Joel Thorpe, focused on the shifting approaches to aid operations in Yemen from emergency to long-term and… Continue reading News March 18, 2024 02:05 MIN OSESGY Meets with Yemeni Community Leaders through Sana’a Center Peacebuilding Initiative On March 5, a series of meetings concluded which gathered diplomats, representatives of the UN Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen (OSESGY), and members from the Strategic Thinking Groups (STGs) representing four key Yemeni governorates. The meetings were organized under the project "Exploring Alternative Methodologies for Peace in Yemen," implemented by the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies in partnership with Saferworld and funded by the British Foreign Office. Discussions were held over the course of six days, in Amman, Jordan, as part of a bid to shape international policies on peacebuilding in Yemen. Over 25 participants, including Sarhad Fatah, Deputy Head of Mission at the UN OSESGY Office, and Chris Bold, the Deputy British Ambassador to… Continue reading Main Publications March 8, 2024 47:08 MIN Development is Coming: Be Careful What You Wish For By Dr. Nadia Al-Sakkaf, Alex Harper, and Joel Thorpe Since 2021, Yemenis have become more strident in their calls for new and better ways of providing aid. Yemeni experts have warned that prolonged cycles of short-term humanitarian aid can entrench dependence and have called for a transition toward development approaches that could set the foundation for a sustainable post-conflict economy. Despite vastly different interpretations and positions over what development means in practice, this shift is now happening, albeit slowly. New frameworks and coordination mechanisms are emerging from the UN compound in Sana’a, the World Bank offices in Amman's Abdali Boulevard, and the conference rooms of Riyadh and Brussels, which are set to fundamentally change the way aid is delivered in Yemen over the coming decade. The effect of these… Continue reading Analysis February 21, 2024 28:54 MIN Yemen’s Vulnerability to Climate Change: How to Strengthen Adaptation By Helen Lackner This policy brief summarizes the environmental issues Yemen faces and outlines policy and technical responses to limit their impact. These include environmental problems caused by the absence of state intervention or by misguided policies, and those that are symptoms of global warming, pointing out the frequent synergy between them. Yemen, like other developing countries, suffers the consequences of climate change while having insignificant responsibility for causing them. Water scarcity is Yemen’s major environmental problem, which demands urgent attention. Other environmental issues include the deterioration of ecosystems, oil related and other pollution, sanitation issues, waste disposal, fisheries, and rising sea levels. The problems are due to a synergy between human interventions and external global warming features. In the course of earlier… Continue reading Main Publications February 20, 2024 20:32 MIN Safeguarding a Dying Practice: The Role of Shabwani Women in Tribal Mediation and Reconciliation By Samah AlKhader This study explores the rich tradition in tribal mediation and reconciliation work carried out by women in Shabwa, charting their role in resolving family-related disputes as well as larger political conflicts. It argues that despite the prevalence of female mediation in Shabwa today, such practices are on the decline, and find little resonance with the younger generation of Shabwani women, many of whom believe that tribal customs, and accompanying tribal roles, limit their horizons and are unsuited to modern-day life. The advent of war has also brought about new dynamics that further threaten the role of women in mediation and reconciliation, including the emboldenment of patriarchy and the ensuant regression in women’s rights and social roles over the years. Given… Continue reading News February 18, 2024 04:41 MIN Statement for the Universal Periodic Review Pre-session on Yemen Honorable Members of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Colleagues, Friends: My name is Yazeed Aljeddawy and I am here representing the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies, a Yemeni policy and research center. Today, I point your attention to the catastrophe in Yemen, which continues to suffer from nearly a decade of war and one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. The core of our submission regards the urgent need to recognize the rights of the victims of conflict, and the centrality of justice to Yemen’s political and economic future. Victims’ voices are not being adequately represented or respected in official negotiations, and have too long been drowned out by competing political and military agendas, from… Continue reading