ANSAR ALLAH/HOUTHI MOVEMENT
Hudaydah Governorate
On August 14th, the Houthis kidnapped Mwatana human rights researcher Kamal Al Shawish. This violates Rule 99 of customary IHL.
Jizan, KSA
On August 8th, a Houthi missile launched into Saudi Arabia killed one and wounded eleven civilians, violating rules 3 and 6, which prohibit harming civilians.
On September 24, President Trump signed a new proclamation placing restrictions on immigration and travel to the United States for nationals of certain countries. This is the White House’s third attempt to ban travel to the US based on national origin alone. Like the previous travel bans, this one is justified by the administration on national security grounds. But experts and officials within Trump’s own government have previously found that such restrictions do not have any positive impact on security. Rather than a legitimate security measure, this proclamation is a politically-motivated gesture intended to satisfy xenophobic, Islamophobic, and racist elements within the US. Unlike the previous “Muslim Ban” orders, this document adds two states that are not predominantly Muslim to the list of effective countries. Nevertheless, as US federal courts have confirmed based on the president’s own statements, these orders are all attempts to realize Trump’s campaign promise to ban foreign Muslims from entering the US. The Yemen Peace Project condemns this discriminatory decree, and calls on the courts and Congress to overturn these restrictions, as US law demands.
The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNCHR) has the legal authority and supporting precedents to establish an independent international commission of investigation (“CoI”) in respect of the conflict in Yemen. Its failure to do so is completely inconsistent with well-established UN practice.
The 1991 UN General Assembly (UNGA) “Declaration on Fact-finding by the United Nations in the Field of the Maintenance of International Peace and Security” makes clear that “[f]act-finding should be comprehensive, objective, impartial and timely.” The Declaration also recommends “using the United Nations fact-finding capabilities at an early stage in order to contribute to the prevention of disputes and situations.”
Just Security published an op-ed today by YPP executive director Will Picard, warning of the dangers of a deal currently being negotiated in secret that could return former president Ali Abdullah Saleh to power. Saleh was ousted in late 2011, after a lengthy popular uprising and a schism within the regime. In 2014 he allied himself with the Houthi movement to orchestrate a coup, sparking the ongoing civil war in Yemen. While the UN-led peace process has stalled, it appears that that the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are negotiating with Saleh's party to form a new government and end the Gulf states' military intervention. The new government would reportedly include Saleh's son and other members of the pro-Saleh branch of Yemen's ruling GPC party.
Yesterday the Yemen Peace Project and 21 other NGOs sent a letter to all members of the UN Security Council calling on them to take immediate action to advance peace negotiations and address the humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen. The Council will meet to discuss the situation and hear an update from the UN Special Envoy on May 30. The full text of the letter is below.
UN Security Council must act to end man-made humanitarian crisis in Yemen
We the undersigned organisations call upon UN Security Council members to take action to bring about an immediate ceasefire in Yemen, end the humanitarian crisis and support the UN Special Envoy's efforts towards an inclusive political solution to the conflict.
The following is a summary of recent developments relevant to US policy in Yemen. The YPP produces these periodic round-ups for distribution to US government contacts.
Yemen's civil war is now in its third year and shows no sign of resolution, absent pressure from the international community and the United States in particular.
White House approval of Secretary Mattis' request for an escalation of US military support for the Hudaydah port offensive is likely to precipitate full-blown famine in the country and eliminate any remaining incentives for the warring parties to come to the peace table. Below is a quick rundown of recent happenings on the Hill and in the Trump Administration related to Yemen.
We want to hear what you think about the conflict in Yemen and America’s role in Yemeni affairs. Record an audio message using your mobile phone or computer, and email it to us at mafraj@yemenpeaceproject.org. We’ll include your message in an upcoming episode of the Mafraj Radio podcast and post it on the Mafraj Blog. We welcome comments on any aspect of the conflict, but here are a few prompts to get you started:
We look forward to hearing from you!
The YPP, along with 37 other advocacy, civil society, peace, and faith groups, sent a letter to President Trump today expressing our grave concern over the proposed Hudaydah offensive in Yemen. The White House is expected to sign off this week on the Pentagon's request to increase US involvement in a Saudi- and Emirati-led offensive that would cause extreme humanitarian suffering and risks sparking famine in Yemen, while eroding prospects for a political settlement to the conflict.
We urge President Trump to withhold US support and act to prevent the coalition from moving forward with the offensive. Instead, the Trump administration should focus on using diplomatic pressure to bring the warring parties to the peace table and allow unfettered humanitarian access to Yemen's ailing civilian population.
The Yemen Peace Project (YPP) has learned that the White House is expected to sign off on the Pentagon’s request for the United States to support the Saudi- and Emirati-led offensive to take control of the seaport and city of al-Hudaydah, which is currently controlled by the Houthi-Saleh alliance. It is our understanding that a major attack on al-Hudaydah is therefore imminent. In addition to providing support for the coalition in the forms of “surveillance, intelligence, refueling and operational planning,” the US administration is also reportedly considering direct US military engagement against the Houthis as part of this offensive. The YPP joins a broad coalition of NGOs, US lawmakers, and representatives of international organizations in calling on President Trump to withhold American support for any offensive against al-Hudaydah.
On Thursday, March 30, the YPP and the Arab Center for the Promotion of Human Rights hosted an event at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC, to discuss the war in Yemen and the role of the United States in the conflict. The event was attended by congressional staff, representatives from NGOs, and members of the public. The discussion was moderated by YPP executive director Will Picard, and featured two guest speakers:
Yesterday afternoon a federal judge in Hawaii issued a restraining order preventing the federal government from implementing some of the provisions of President Trump's second executive order on immigration, travel, and refugee resettlement. Among other things, the order would have prohibited the issuance of new visas for nationals of Yemen, Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, and Sudan for at least 90 days, and paused all refugee resettlement and the processing of refugee applications for 120 days. It also would have reduced the maximum number of refugees admitted to the US in 2017 to 50,000, less than half the maximum set by the Obama administration. The Hawaii ruling blocks those provisions. A federal court in Maryland ruled a few hours later, with similar effect.
Welcome to the long-awaited fourth season of Mafraj Radio, the official podcast of the Yemen Peace Project. I’m Will Picard. On this episode we’ll discuss America’s role in Yemen’s civil war, and the Trump administration’s efforts to block citizens of Yemen and five other nations from entering the United States. And we’ll meet one of the many Yemeni immigrants who call America home.