THE CRISIS IN YEMEN

THE STRUGGLE TO FIND NONVIOLENCE WITHIN VIOLENCE

MAP OF YEMEN
 QUICK YEMENI HISTORY
• UNIQUE LOCATION AT ENTRANCE TO THE RED SEA HAS ALLOWED BOTH ANCIENT AND
MODERN TRADE ROUTES TO PASS THROUGH ADEN (A STRATEGICALLY IMPORTANT PORT)
• TRADITIONALLY VERY FERTILE LAND WHICH ENABLED AGRICULTURE AND
COMMERCIAL PROSPERITY
• KNOWN TO ANCIENT ROMANS AS ARABIA FELIX (LATIN FOR “FORTUNATE ARABIA”)
• COFFEE WAS FIRST CULTIVATED HERE AS THE SOLE SOURCE BEFORE THE THEFT OF
BEANS TO BE TRANSPORTED TO OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD
• CURRENT REPUBLIC OF YEMEN CREATED IN 1990 WHEN NORTH AND SOUTH YEMEN
MERGED, MAKING SANA’A THE POLITICAL CAPITAL AND ADEN THE ECONOMIC CENTER
(ALLOWING BOTH FORMER CAPITALS TO REMAIN IMPORTANT)
• SOUTH YEMEN WAS CONTROLLED BY BRITISH IMPERIAL RULE FROM 1839-1967 AND
EXPERIENCED MUCH POLITICAL UPHEAVAL

Wenner, Manfred W., and Robert Burrowes. “Yemen.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 15 Apr. 2020,
www.britannica.com/place/Yemen.
 RELIGIOUS DIFFERENCES
SUNNI (KINGDOM OF SAUDI
SHIA (YEMENI) ARABIA)

• BELIEVE SUCCESSION SHOULD FOLLOW • BELIEVE SUCCESSION SHOULD BE

PROPHET FAMILY LINE OR APPOINTMENT DETERMINED BY ELECTIONS
• MAKE UP APPROX. 15% OF MUSLIMS IN • MAKE UP APPROX. 85% OF MUSLIMS
THE WORLD IN THE WORLD
• BELIEVE IMAM (LEADER) IS SINLESS BY • BELIEVES THERE IS NO BASIS IN
NATURE WITH INFALLIBLE AUTHORITY
ISLAM FOR HEREDITARY PRIVILEGE
• ZAYDI SHIA MAKE UP ABOUT 45% OF
• SUNNI MAKE UP ABOUT 53% OF
YEMENI POPULATION
YEMENI POPULATION
HUDA. "KEY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SHIA AND SUNNI MUSLIMS." LEARN RELIGIONS, FEB. 11, 2020, LEARNRELIGIONS.COM/DIFFERENCE-
BETWEEN-SHIA-AND-SUNNI-MUSLIMS-2003755.
 CONFLICT PARTIES

• HOUTHI REBELS LED BY ABDUL MALIK AL-HOUTHI

• LOYALISTS OF PRESIDENT ABD RABBUH MANSUR HADI AND BACKED BY A
COALITION LED BY SAUDI ARABIA (INCLUDES UNITED ARAB EMIRATES)
• AL-QAEDA IN THE ARABIAN PENINSULA (AQAP) WHO CLASHED WITH HOUTHI
REBELS IN NORTH YEMEN TERRITORIES
• ISLAMIC STATE (IS)
 INSTIGATING FACTORS
• MAJORITY OF SHIA REBELS FOLLOW ZAYDI DOCTRINE, PRIMARILY LIVE IN THE
NORTHERN HIGHLAND OF YEMEN
• NOT ALL ZAYDIS SUPPORT THE HOUTHI REBELS

• YEMENI GOVERNMENT HAS EXPLOITED, TO A POINT, THE BELIEF THAT ALL

ZAYDIS SUPPORT THE HOUTHI REBELS. THIS HAS CAUSED RIVAL ZAYDI CLANS
TO FIGHT AGAINST THE HOUTHIS
• THIS EXPLOITATION HAS CREATED A SUB CONFLICT THAT DEALS WITH TRIBAL
HISTORIES
• YEMENI GOVERNMENT ACCUSES HOUTHIS OF TRYING TO INSTALL A NEW
GOVERNMENT BASED ON ZAYDI DOCTRINE AND INSTALL AN ISLAMIC IMAM
• HOUTHIS ACCUSE YEMENI GOVERNMENT OF TRYING TO ELIMINATE THEIR
DOCTRINE AND CLAIM THEY ARE DEFENDING THEMSELVES
United Nations. “Yemen: The Conflict in Saada Governorate - Analysis.” Refworld, The UN Refugee Agency, www.refworld.org/docid/488f180d1e.html.
 HUMANITARIAN CRISIS
• 2019 HUMANITARIAN NEEDS OVERVIEW STATES THAT “AN ESTIMATED 80 PER
CENT OF THE POPULATION – 24 MILLION PEOPLE – REQUIRED SOME FORM OF
HUMANITARIAN OR PROTECTION ASSISTANCE, INCLUDING 14.3 MILLION WHO
ARE IN ACUTE NEED.”
• ACUTE NEED POPULATION IS UP 27% FROM 2018

• 20 MILLION + ARE FOOD INSECURE, ALMOST 10 MILLION SUFFER EXTREME

HUNGER
• 3.2 MILLION PEOPLE REQUIRED TREATMENT FOR ACUTE MALNUTRITION. THIS
INCLUDES 2 MILLION CHILDREN UNDER 5 AND ONE MILLION
PREGNANT/LACTATING WOMEN
• 17.8 MILLION PEOPLE LACK ACCESS TO SAFE WATER AND SANITATION
• AT LEAST 17,700 CIVILIANS VERIFIED KILLED BY THE UN
• AT LEAST 3.3 MILLION PEOPLE REMAIN DISPLACED – UP FROM 2.2 MILLION IN
2018
 PROPOSED NONVIOLENT ACTIONS
• PEACE TALKS HAVE FAMOUSLY FAILED IN THE REGION IN MULTIPLE SCENARIOS. THERE IS
OBVIOUSLY A DISCONNECT BETWEEN THE TWO SIDES. I PROPOSE INTEGRATING FEMALE
COUNTERPARTS INTO THE NEGOTIATIONS IN ORDER TO ALLOW PEACE TO FIND FOOTING
• RESEARCH SUGGEST THAT FEMALE NEGOTIATORS FREQUENTLY SEE MORE LASTING PEACEFUL
ENDS

• SOME SORT OF WELL-ROUNDED EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM MUST BE PUT INTO PLACE TO

ENSURE ALL CITIZENS ARE RECEIVING THE SAME EDUCATION – THIS MUST ALSO ALLOW
FOR RELIGIOUS ACCEPTANCE
• YEMEN SHOULD FOLLOW TUTU’S RECONCILIATION PATH TO ALLOW FOR DEEP WOUNDS
TO HEAL – THE REGION IS PLAGUED BY LONGSTANDING CONFLICT
• GENDER DEFICITS SHOULD BE REVISED – WHERE THERE IS EXCLUSION, VIOLENCE
FOLLOWS
• REGARDLESS OF RELIGION, INTEGRATION IS THE ONLY WAY TO SEE LASTING PEACE IN
THE AREA
 CITATIONS
• ARMED CONFLICT LOCATION & EVENT DATA PROJECT, AND ARMED CONFLICT LOCATION & EVENT DATA PROJECT. “ACLED RESOURCES: WAR IN YEMEN.” ACLED, 26 MAR. 2020,
ACLEDDATA.COM/2020/03/25/ACLED-RESOURCES-WAR-IN-YEMEN/.

• BURROWES, ROBERT, AND MANFRED W. WENNER. “TRANSFER OF POWER TO ʿABD RABBUH MANṢŪR HADĪ.” ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA, ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA, INC.,
15 APR. 2020, WWW.BRITANNICA.COM/PLACE/YEMEN/TRANSFER-OF-POWER-TO-ABD-RABBUH-MANSUR-HADI.

• CENTER, SANA'A. “A GENDERED CRISIS: UNDERSTANDING THE EXPERIENCES OF YEMEN'S WAR.” SANA'A CENTER FOR STRATEGIC STUDIES, 15 DEC. 2019,
SANAACENTER.ORG/PUBLICATIONS/MAIN-PUBLICATIONS/8480.

• “HUMANITARIAN CRISIS IN YEMEN REMAINS THE WORST IN THE WORLD, WARNS UN | UN NEWS.” UNITED NATIONS, UNITED NATIONS, NEWS.UN.ORG/EN/STORY/2019/02/1032811.

• “REPORTS.” HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH, 16 APR. 2020, WWW.HRW.ORG/PUBLICATIONS.

• THAROOR, ISHAAN. “A BRIEF HISTORY OF YEMEN: RICH PAST, IMPOVERISHED PRESENT.” TIME, TIME INC., 1 NOV. 2010,
CONTENT.TIME.COM/TIME/WORLD/ARTICLE/0,8599,2028740,00.HTML.

• THE EDITORS OF ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA. “AL-QAEDA IN THE ARABIAN PENINSULA.” ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA, ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA, INC., 10 FEB. 2020,
WWW.BRITANNICA.COM/TOPIC/AL-QAEDA-IN-THE-ARABIAN-PENINSULA.

• THE EDITORS OF ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA. “YEMEN UPRISING OF 2011–12.” ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA, ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA, INC., 21 JAN. 2020,
WWW.BRITANNICA.COM/EVENT/YEMEN-UPRISING-OF-2011-2012.

• “UN SECURITY COUNCIL URGES IMMEDIATE END TO FIGHTING IN YEMEN.” VOICE OF AMERICA, WWW.VOANEWS.COM/MIDDLE-EAST/UN-SECURITY-COUNCIL-URGES-
IMMEDIATE-END-FIGHTING-YEMEN.

• UNITED NATIONS. “YEMEN: THE CONFLICT IN SAADA GOVERNORATE - ANALYSIS.” REFWORLD, THE UN REFUGEE AGENCY, WWW.REFWORLD.ORG/DOCID/488F180D1E.HTML.

• UNITED NATIONS. “FREEDOM IN THE WORLD 2018 - YEMEN.” REFWORLD, WWW.REFWORLD.ORG/TOPIC,50FFBCE528C,50FFBCE5298,5A9EA68E26,0,,,YEM.HTML.

• “YEMEN.” YEMEN | WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME, WWW.WFP.ORG/COUNTRIES/YEMEN.

• “YEMEN.” DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS - USA, WWW.DOCTORSWITHOUTBORDERS.ORG/WHAT-WE-DO/COUNTRIES/YEMEN#WHAT IS CONTRIBUTING TO THE HUMANITARIAN

CRISIS IN YEMEN?

• “YEMEN.” DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS - USA, WWW.DOCTORSWITHOUTBORDERS.ORG/WHAT-WE-DO/COUNTRIES/YEMEN.

• “YEMEN.” EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS IN YEMEN | AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL | AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL, 21 APR. 2020,
WWW.AMNESTY.ORG/EN/COUNTRIES/MIDDLE-EAST-AND-NORTH-AFRICA/YEMEN/.