Over the past three years, the Office of the Special Envoy for Yemen has mediated between the parties under the leadership of Special Envoy Martin Griffiths to reach a peaceful resolution of the conflict. Recently, Mr. Griffiths was appointed as the new Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.

“The United Nations has long characterized Yemen as the world’s worst man-made humanitarian crisis. I want to underline here the man-made part of that statement. Ending a war is a choice. Yemeni men, women and children are suffering every day because people with power have missed the opportunities presented to them, to make the necessary concessions to end the war. As a result, Yemenis are obliged to live under violence, insecurity and fear, with limits to their freedom of movement, and freedom of expression. And perhaps most tragically of all, we are a witness to the hopes and aspirations of a generation of young Yemenis for a peaceful future being dashed,” Mr. Griffiths said in his last briefing to the Security Council in his capacity as the Special Envoy for Yemen.

Mr. Griffiths stressed again that the only way out of the conflict is a negotiated settlement and warned that time will make reaching this peaceful conclusion more perilous.

“Time is not on Yemen’s side. Over the course of the conflict, armed and political actors have multiplied and fragmented. Foreign interference has grown not diminished. What was possible in terms of conflict resolution years ago is not possible today. And what is possible today may not be possible in the future,” Mr. Griffiths said.

Mr. Griffiths reminded of the guiding principles of the political dialogue and settlement that Yemen needs. The dialogue must be inclusive and pluralistic. The agreement must guarantee “the interests and rights of those most affected by the conflict, and not only those who perpetuate and lead the conflict”. And the future vision that drives the dialogue and settlement must firmly base itself on the principles of “political partnership, accountable governance, sovereignty, economic and social justice, and equal citizenship.” The end goal must be “stability based on rights and freedom.”

Hope, however, is always found in Yemenis’ own peace advocacy, Mr. Griffiths reiterated. He highlighted the inspiring achievements of Yemenis who “have formed alliances and carried out initiatives that span from non-partisan media platforms to mobilization and organization of activism of civil society and community safety networks.”

Inclusivity and national ownership are essential for the sustainability of peace and key to the United Nations mediation framework. In Yemen, the United Nations has advocated for an inclusive political dialogue as the solution to the unfolding conflict.

In his last briefing to the Security Council, the Special Envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, stressed that any political settlement must reflect the needs, priorities and aspirations for those most affected by the conflict, not only those who perpetrate it. The Office of the Special Envoy has worked to include in its mediation efforts the perspectives and views of unarmed groups such as women, youth and civil society.

Throughout the past three years, the Office of the Special Envoy has deployed different strategies to ensure its peace mediation is informed by the views and perspectives of as many Yemenis as possible. This included, along with the formation of advisory structures, such as the Technical Advisory Group of women peace advocates, and an advisory body of Yemeni experts who supported the Office of the Special Envoy during the talks in Stockholm in December of 2018.

In preparation for the talks in Sweden that led to the Stockholm Agreement in December of 2018, the Office of the Special Envoy offered extra seats for the delegations of the parties to the conflict if they agreed to use the seats to include women on their negotiating teams. The parties declined the offer at the time. The Office of the Special Envoy continues to advocate for the inclusion of women in the parties’ delegations in any future negotiations and their full participation in the peace process.

The Office has also consistently engaged in consultations with Yemeni civil society organizations, public figures, experts as well as youth and women groups, journalists and activists. The consultations used a multitude of formats including in-person and virtual meetings as well as large scale consultations using innovative digital tools.

The efforts of broadening the views that inform peace mediation in Yemen have resulted in identifying several areas of improvement including the need for greater coordination between different United Nations entities and between the United Nations and Track II organizations; robust mapping of active groups inside and outside Yemen; and more focus on follow-up and sustained engagements. Additionally, there is a need for more innovative solutions to provide a platform that allows the civil society to influence the views of the parties in the absence of direct talks within the context of the UN-facilitated political process.

The Office of the Special Envoy has deployed several strategies to address these gaps including strengthening coordination mechanisms and mapping initiatives, as well as mainstreaming the inclusion of women, youth and civil society in all the Office’s meetings and activities.

“This is the sixth year since the current conflict spiraled resulting in untold suffering of children. This presents an opportunity to show the world the real cost of the war on children, their lives, potentials and future. Through this report and a series of products, UNICEF Yemen highlights the scale of the impact of the conflict on education in Yemen and make a call on behalf of the children of Yemen and their teachers for parties to the conflict and the international community to prioritize the education of children so Yemen’s future is maintained.”

Read the full report by UNICEF at: https://www.unicef.org/yemen/reports/education-disrupted