Committee: Human Rights Council
Question of: War in Yemen
Students Officer: Emil Berschin
Introduction:
The Yemeni Civil War is an ongoing armed conflict that began officially on March 26, 2015,
between the so called Revolutionary Committee/Supreme Political Council, often referred to as Houthis, who
are backed by the Iran; and the former government led by Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, wich is supported by
an Saudi Arabia led coalition. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), as well as the Islamic State of
Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) also carry out attacks against both sides and took over territory in the hinterlands,
and along the coast.
On 21 March, after taking over the capital Sana'a and the Yemeni government, the Houthi-led
Supreme Revolutionary Committee declared a general mobilization to overthrow Hadi. By 25 March, the
Houthi-offensive reached the outskirts of Aden, the seat of power for Hadi's government and Hadi fled the
country the same day. Concurrently, the coalition led by Saudi Arabia, which gets supported by the USA,
Great Britain, France and Turkey launched military operations by using airstrikes to restore the former
Yemeni government.
According to the UN, since the outbreak of this war until August 2016, over 10,000 people have
been killed in Yemen, including 3,799 civilians. The UN High Council for Refugees also estimates that over
2.4 million Yemenis have fled their homes. 14 million of Yemen`s 26 million population are in need for food
or medical aid.
Source: Thomson Reuters
The War in Yemen:
Background:
In November 2011, Yemen embarked on a fragile process of political transition after nationwide
anti-government protests resulted in the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, the handover of power
to his deputy, Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, and the formation of a Unity government under a political roadmap
formulated through the Gulf Cooperation Council initiative.
However, the situation in the country steadily deteriorated as a result of political instability and
increased fighting between different groups, including government forces, Houthi forces (also known as
Ansar Allah), armed forces allied with former President Saleh, AQAP, local tribesmen and Southern
separatist groups.
The political transition began to unravel when Houthi forces took over the capital, Sana'a, in
September 2014. In the months that followed, the Houthi forces reportedly expanded and consolidated their
control over Sana'a as an agreement to put in place a new power-sharing government failed to take hold.
On 22 January 2015, the internationally-recognized government of President Hadi stepped down after Houthi
forces seized the presidential palace and placed the president and his government under house arrest. On 6
February 2015, the Houthis dissolved the parliament to pave the way for a transitional assembly and a fivemember presidential council. On 21 February 2015, internationally recognized President Hadi fled from
house arrest to the southern city of Aden and reasserted his authority as president. Since 23 March 2015, the
conflict in Yemen has escalated significantly as clashes between Houthi forces and other parties intensified
mainly in the South. On 26 March 2015, air strikes began to hit Houthi targets and military installations,
primarily in Sana'a and Sa'ada before expanding to other governorates. As of 7 April 2015, 14 of the
country's 22 governorates were affected by air strikes.
The UN Security Council on 15 February 2015 unanimously adopted Resolution 2201; Deploring the
unilateral actions taken by the Houthis to dissolve parliament and take over Yemen's government
institutions, and demanding "that the Houthis immediately and unconditionally […] withdraw their forces
from government institutions, including in the capital Sana’a, […], and relinquish government and security
institutions".
The house arrest of the Prime Minister, Foreign Minister and other Cabinet members was lifted in
mid-March 2015. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on all parties to ensure the
protection of civilians and emphasized the need for political negotiations to resolve the crisis. He also
reiterated earlier calls to all parties and Member States to refrain from taking any actions that undermine the
unity, sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Yemen.
In parallel to the deepening crisis, AQAP and other extremist groups, which oppose both the
government and the Houthi forces, maintain the ability to stage numerous deadly attacks. These extremist
groups reportedly seek to take advantage of the escalation of violence and instability to claim influence and
territory.
Meanwhile, in the South, which was an independent state prior to its 1990 union with the North, the
situation remained volatile with Southeners demanding increased autonomy or separation. According to
observers, Yemen stood on the brink of civil war with the conflict having taken on “worrying sectarian tones
and deepening north-south divisions.”
The political and security situation remained highly fluid. Over the years, national and internal
conflicts, including tribal clashes, attacks and separatist movements, offensives by AQAP and ISIL and the
conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran have created significant displacement.
By the end of 2014, more than 330,000 Yemenis were internally displaced, many of them for a
protracted period. As a result of the escalation in violence, internal displacement is reported to raised
quickly, although the extent of displacement is difficult to gauge due to limited access and the fluidity of
displacement.
Course of the Conflict:
The Yemeni Civil war unofficially broke out on March 21, 2015, with the Houthi Revolutunary
Comittee declaring a "state of general mobilization against terrorist elements in southern Yemen"; However
the first important event in the course of the conflict between the Hadi Goverment and the Houthis was the
Battle of the Aden International Airport on March 19, in which Houthi's Troops under General Abdul-Hazef
al-Saqqaf started an offensive against the Airport, but were defeated by the military loyal to Hadi.
Following the Battle Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi reiterated in a speech on 21 March that he was the
legitimate president of Yemen and declared, "We will restore security to the country and hoist the flag of
Yemen in Sana'a, instead of the Iranian flag." He also officially declared Aden to be Yemen's "economic and
temporary capital" due to the Houthi occupation of Sana'a, which he pledged would be retaken.
After the fighting broke out, it reached Aden's outskirts on 25 March, with Houthi soldiers again
taking over control of the Aden International Airport and destroying an army base of the Hadi Government.
Reportedly Hadi fled his temporary capital and resurfaced on the next day in the Saudi capital, Riyadh,
where he arrived by plane. Over the following days, Houthi forces encircled Aden and captured the city
entirely, as they took over the temporary presidential palace on 2 April.
However, forces loyal to Hadi recaptured Aden, with support from the Saudi Arabian government,
on 21 July in Operation "Golden Arrow". At the same day a U.N. ship docked in Aden carrying muchneeded relief supplies.
At the beginning of 2016, a new conflict began around Aden, as ISIL and AQAP captured areas
around the city.
Current State of the Conflict:
Peace talks continue in Kuwait between the Yemen government and the Houthis, and their allies in
the General People's Congress (GPC). At a 30 June press conference, the Special Envoy announced the
suspension of the talks, which had been ongoing for more than two months, in order for the parties to confer
with their respective leaderships before resuming negotiations on 15 July. He said the sides had reacted
positively to a roadmap that he had presented, which provides for implementation of resolution 2216 and the
creation of a national unity government, but they remained divided over the sequencing of the steps. The
Houthis have wanted agreement on a unity government before withdrawing and disarming, while the
government wants them to take these actions first.
On 10 July, Yemen President Abdo Rabbo Mansour Hadi threatened that the government would
boycott the talks if the Special Envoy insisted on the creation of a unity government as part of a roadmap.
Foreign Minister Abdul Malik al-Mekhlafi said the government would not return to the talks without
“guarantees” and unless the Houthis recognise Hadi's legitimacy. After a one-day delay, talks resumed on 16
July. On 28 July, the Houthis and GPC announced they would establish a governing council to run the
country. The Special Envoy said the decision threatened the talks and violated resolution 2216, which
demanded all parties to refrain from unilateral actions that undermine Yemen's political transition.
The cessation of hostilities, which began on 10 April, remains in place. However, clashes have
continued around the city Taiz, to the east and north-east of Sana'a and along border areas with Saudi Arabia.
AQAP and ISIL remain a threat, especially in the south, where attacks and assassinations have continued
against government forces and officials. These include ISIL-claimed attacks on 27 June against government
forces that killed 42 people in Mukalla. On 8 July, a suicide car bomber attacked a checkpoint near a base in
Aden, reportedly killing 25 soldiers.
On 2 June, the Secretary-General’s annual report on children and armed conflict was made public.
The report identified air strikes by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition as responsible for 60 percent of child
casualties in Yemen during 2015 and for nearly 50 percent of attacks on hospitals and schools. As a
consequence, the Saudi Arabia-led coalition was listed in the report’s annex, from which it was removed
again few days later. The Houthis, which were already listed for recruitment of children, were also cited for
killing and maiming of children and attacks on schools and hospitals.
Humanitarian situation:
Yemen is a party to the Geneva Conventions and an additional Protocol on the Protection of Victims
of Non-International Armed Conflicts, which is binding on all groups party to a conflict, and seeks to ensure
that forces undertake precautions to avoid killing civilians. Under the Protocol on the Protection of Victims
of Non-International Armed Conflicts, parties to a conflict must take care to "spare the civilian population,
civilians and civilian objects". Customary international humanitarian law also prohibits indiscriminate
attacks in international and non-international conflicts. Yemen is also bound to following human rights
treaties: the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic,
Social, and Cultural Rights, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
With a poverty rate of more than 50 percent, Yemen was the Arab world’s poorest country prior to
the Houthi offensive and Saudi-led air campaign. The conflict has pushed the country to the verge of famine.
Especially blockades imposed by coalition forces have also been extremely detrimental to Yemen, as the
country relies heavily on the import of essential items, such as fuel and medicine. Joanne Liu, the head of
Doctors Without Borders, has claimed that the blockades imposed on Yemen "killing as many people as the
current conflict". The blockades imposed could be argued to breach the right to food, especially in a country
such as Yemen, which imports 90% of its food.
It is estimated that over 4000 civilians had been killed since the escalation in March 2015. Civilians
have been targeted by both sides, in violation of international humanitarian law, a UN panel of experts
found. Among the violations the panel cited was Saudi Arabia's declaration of the entire city of Saada as a
"military target"; the city has seen some of the war's worst devastation, including the destruction of a hospital
run by the international relief organization Doctors Without Borders. Elsewhere, the coalition and resistance
fighters have targeted hospitals and schools. It noted that also Houthi forces have committed war crimes,
including in their siege of the city of Taiz.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported in August 2015 that a total of
almost 100,000 people fled Yemen, especially to regional countries, like Saudi Arabia and Djibouti.
In September 2016, UNHCR estimated displacement of 2.4 million Yemenis within the country and 120,000
seeking asylum in foreign country's. The United Nations representative Valerie Amos Under-SecretaryGeneral for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said on 2 April that she was "extremely
concerned" about the fate of civilians trapped in fierce fighting, after aid agencies reported 519 people killed
and 1,700 injured in two weeks. The UN children's agency reported 62 children killed and 30 injured and
also children being recruited as soldiers.
This is also a major concern for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance as the
rights of children are being extremely adversely affected by the current situation in Yemen. Despite Yemen's
international commitment to uphold the rights of children, UNICEF has claimed that approximately a third
of the fighters from various regional groups are children.
The conflict is also having an effect on the health of Yemeni children; the number of children who
died from preventable diseases per year increased by around 10,000 since the beginning of the conflict. This
is likely due to the closure of around 600 medical facilities in Yemen, and also affects Yemenis of all ages.
The hospitals and other medical facilities which have remained open often suffer from a lack of staff,
equipment, medicine, and power cuts Education has also suffered as a result of the conflict, with 1,100
schools unfit to reopen as of April 2016, and 1.8 million children have out of school since the beginning of
the conflict. In August 2016, a school was hit by a Saudi Arabian air strike, resulting in the death of at least
19 people, most of whom were children.
It has been reported that around 180,000 Yemeni children are suffering from malnutrition. As of May
2016, The United Nations claimed it had only been able to reach a third of the children suffering from acute
malnutrition. According to UNICEF, as of May 2016, 1.3 million Yemeni children are at risk of malnutrition.
In September 2016, it was claimed that 320,000 children were severely malnourished, with 2.2 million
children in need of urgent humanitarian assistance.
Russia called for "humanitarian pauses" in the coalition bombing campaign, bringing the idea before
the United Nations Security Council in a 4 April emergency meeting. However, Saudi Arabia's ambassador
to the United Nations questioned whether humanitarian pauses would be the best way of delivering
humanitarian assistance.
Key Events:
1990 May
North and South Yemen unite as the Republic of
Yemen
2014 September
Houthi rebels take over large parts of the capital
Sana'a
2015 January
Houthis reject draft constitution probosed by the
Hadi government
2015 February
Houthis appoint presidential council to replace Hadi,
who flees to Aden
2015 February
The UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2201;
demanding "that the Houthis immediately and
unconditionally withdraw their forces from
government institutions"
2015 March 25
Houthi forces take over control of Aden
2015 March 25
Official outbreak of the Yemen War
2015 March 25
Formation of the Saudi Arabian led Coalition
2015 March 26
Launch of air strikes against Houthi Targets in
Yemen by Saudi Arabia
2015 June
Leader of the AQAP killed by a US drone strike in
Yemen
2015 July
Hadi troops, supported by Saudi Arabia recapture
Aden, in Operation "Golden Arrow"
2015 September
President Hadi reurnts to Aden, after Saudi-backed
forces recaptured the City from Houthi forces
2016 April
Start of UN-sponsored talks between the Hadi
government and the Houthis
2016 June
The Secretary-General’s annual report on children
and armed conflict was made public, condemning the
Houthis and Saudia Arabia for their violations
against Human Rights and International Law.
2016 June
25 soldiers loyal to hadi are killed in a suicide bomb
attack in Aden, claimed by ISIL,
Previous attempts to solve the issue:
On 14 April, the United Nations Security Council adopted resolution 2216 placing sanctions on
Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, establishing an arms embargo on the Houthis, and calling on the Houthis to quit
Sana'a and other areas they seized. The Houthis condemned the UN resolution and called for mass protests.
On 4 April, the International Committee of the Red Cross called for a 24-hour ceasefire to deliver aid
and supplies after the Saudi-led coalition blocked three aid shipments to Yemen.
Despite Saudi Arabia asking for Pakistan's support to join the coalition, the Pakistan government has
also called for a ceasefire in order to help negotiate a diplomatic solution. Alongside Turkey, Pakistan has
taken initiatives to arrange a ceasefire in Yemen.
On 12 April, Saudi Arabia rejected Iran's request about a ceasefire in Yemen. Saudi Foreign Minister
Prince Saud al-Faisal said in the Saudi capital Riyadh, at a news conference that "Saudi Arabia is a
responsible for establishing legitimate government in Yemen and Iran should not interfere."
Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif submitted four-point Yemen peace plan to United
Nations. In this letter he pointed to enormous civilian casualties and destroying civilian infrastructure. He
said the only way for stopping the war is making condition that allows to Yemeni parties to form a national
unity government without any foreign military intervention. Furthermore, since 21 April 2016, peace talks
have started in Kuwait at the Bayan Palace.
In June 2015, a solution to ending the Saudi intervention in Yemen sought the participation of a
Yemeni delegation to the Geneva peace talks; the delegation came under attack in the Geneva peace talks.
In 10 of April 2016, cease fire agreement reached in Yemen, after months of negotiation, however it failed
later in the year.
Possible Solutions:
● resuming the case fire agreement and peace talks
● concentrate international effort to provide humanitarian assistance
● guarantee that medical personnel engaged solely in medical duties can act in accordance with
medical ethics without being punished for doing so
● offering Yemen full membership in the Gulf Cooperation Council
● dissolve all blockade around Yemen
● mediate about a united national government
● enable general, presidential and governmental elections
● define a path for the rapid formation of a government of national unity to be formed immediately
following the withdrawal and handover of weapons in Sana’a and some other vital areas
● raise general public awareness about the war
● form a united offensive, based on ground forces against AQAP and ISIL
Bibliography:
UN - Security Council: Resolution 2216:
http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/{65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3CF6E4FF96FF9}/s_res_2216.pdf
UN - Human Rights Council: Situation on Human Rights in Yemen:
http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/Yemen%20A%20HRC%2027%2044.pdf
UN - General Assembly: Children and Armed Conflic:
http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/s_2016_360.pdf
UN - High Comission for Refugees: Positions on Returns to Yemen
http://www.refworld.org/pdfid/5523fdf84.pdf
UN - News Centre: Lifting of House Arrest of Yemeni Leaders
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=50349#.V-7GnfCLSUk
Council on Foreign Relations - Yemen in Crisis:
http://www.cfr.org/yemen/yemen-crisis/p36488
ReDSS - Yemeni Crisis Regional Durable Solutions Position Paper:
http://www.regionaldss.org/sites/default/files/ReDSS%20Statement-%20Yemen%20position
%20paper.pdf
Muftah - Understanding the Role of the "Southern Question" in Yemen's War:
http://muftah.org/southern-question-yemen-war/#.V-0Q6PCLSUk
Aljazeerah - Key Facts about the War in Yemen
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/06/key-facts-war-yemen-160607112342462.html
Carnegie - Yemen's War inside the War
http://carnegie-mec.org/diwan/60627