Human rights violation in Yemen | Research paper |12-july-2024
Human rights violation in Yemen
Middle East has always been an active discussion when it comes to conflicts but unfortunately the devastating situation of Yemen is slowly being ignored by the world. The long-lasting conflicts in Yemen have resulted in one of the worst humanitarian crises in history[i]. The crises are still continued since 2015 and accelerating every day. The relentless nature of Yemen’s conflict, marked by years of bloodshed and inadequate development, has undoubtedly aggravated the present humanitarian crisis. Yemen is positioned on the southwestern tip of Arabian Peninsula[ii]. It is home to almost 35 million people[iii]. The state of Yemen had always been significant in history and there are multiple complex factors that can help to understand the current conflicts in the region.
This analysis aims to highlight the massive violation of human rights happening in Yemen since 2015. The ongoing crisis inflicting immense suffering on the civil population of Yemen is marked by political instability, social upheaval and major economic collapse. The current situation is appeared to be multifaceted as there are numerous factors leading to the calamitous conditions faced by millions of people in Yemen. Moreover, the efforts made by the international community in order to provide assistance to Yemeni people or to end the war are seemed to be shadowy as the crisis remains staggering. Hence, it is assumed that the Yemen crisis are slowly being forgotten by the world[iv]. To investigate the complex humanitarian crisis, it is necessary to understand the theoretical framework that could act as brick to this analysis, roots of the conflict, external actors and current circumstances of human rights in Yemen.
The human rights violation in Yemen is best explained under the shade of human security in security studies. The theory of human security is contested and there are multiple arguments on what exactly should be included in this concept. Human security is currently based on three main conceptions that shape the basis of this theory[v]. First are the natural rights or also termed as rule of law conception of human security that refers to the pursuit of basic human rights such as life, liberty and happiness with an idea that international community is responsible to assure this security to individuals[vi]. Second conception is humanitarian that focuses on strengthening the international laws regarding war crimes, genocides and people affected by conflicts[vii]. The third view is observed to be broader which suggests that human security is other name of livelihood of people including the economic, societal, environmental and other forms of well-being of individuals. Out of three views, it is the wider consideration of threats.
The humanitarian crisis going on in Yemen falls under the second conception of the human security that particularly focuses on the victims of violation of human rights due to any conflict, war or genocide. The Yemenis are victims of a conflict arose within the state and escalated to a level of worst humanitarian crisis causing personal, community and health security to be undermined[viii]. Moreover, the living conditions in the region are miserable as thousands of individuals are uprooted from their homes and communities due to the destruction of infrastructure resulting economic and food insecurity[ix]. Hence, the severity of human insecurity is up to the extent that all seven pillars of human security including personal security, health security, food security, economy security, community security, political security and environmental security are challenged in Yemen[x]. According to the definition of human security proposed by United Nations, it is a comprehensive, prevention oriented, people centered vision of security which seeks to address the broader range of threats faced by the individuals and communities[xi]. Keeping in mind this concept, the state of Yemen is ongoing serious threats to human security.
Understanding the Origin of Yemen Crisis
Yemen has always been an anarchic region where impoverishment is prevailing from a very long time. The fragmentation of state leading it to verge of collapse is the result of multiple leaders with competing agendas on the same territory. The external interference is also a matter of concern that are causing a continuous downfall of the state. The formation of today’s Yemen dates back to the period after cold war when Yemen’s unification was observed, the north Yemen under the control of USA was known as the Yemeni Arab Republic and the south Yemen under the control of Soviet Union and was known as People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen[xii]. After this, the military officer who ruled North Yemen Ali Abdullah Saleh was appointed as the President of the new unified Yemen. During this time period, several rebellious movements were started against Saleh’s government. For instance, Al Hirak movement that was started by south Yemenis who felt marginalized in Saleh’s rule and the Houthis- Zaydi shia insurgent group with their roots in northern Yemen who rebelled against the official government for six times between 2004 to 2010[xiii].Saleh’s government was supported by the US on a massive scale.
Ali Abdullah Saleh was charged with a lot of allegations of being corrupt and an autocratic ruler by the rebellious groups increasing the pressure due to which he stepped aside and Abed Rabbo Mansour al-Hadi took the charge as interim President in transition brokered by GCC and backed by the US. But the circumstances of the state and its constitution was not stable even after this change. In 2014, President Hadi lifted the fuel subsidies under the pressure of IMF, this resulted in massive opposition from the Houthis in form of protests, Shia-Sunni clashes and rallies. The devastating conflict caused the Houthi forces to overtake the capital “Sanaa”[xiv]. This led the president Hadi to resign but he came back in February 2015 retracting his resign and stayed in Aden. But his position was very weak and ultimately interventions were seen by external actors. for instance, Saudi Arabia with coalition of countries imposed a naval blockade and lunched air strikes in March 2015 in order to repel Houthis, prevent Iran from supplying Houthis and drive them out the southern Yemen.
In 2016, Houthis and government of Saleh formed a political council to govern much of the northern Yemen and Sanaa but it was broken in December 2017 by president Saleh calling for his followers to take up arms against Houthis[xv]. Later he was killed. Hadi’s Government had separate challenges. Southern Transitional Council which was made in 2017 and later was internationally recognized could not help much. Moreover, in 2021, Houthis launched attacks to seize Marib and launched air strikes in Saudi Arabia targeting oil facilities and airports[xvi]. A retaliation came from Saudi Arabia killing thousands of Yemeni people making it the deadliest offensive clash since 2018. In addition, it is seen that multiple external actors are involved in Yemen war including Saudi Arabia, Iran, and United States. Iran and Saudi Arabia backing Northern and southern Yemen respectively engaged in proxy war. Also, the US although announced to end its support for Saudi-led offensive in Yemen in February 2021, revoked the Houthis as terrorist organization but in January 2024 Houthis were called a terrorist organization again due to attacks on ships in Red Sea[xvii].
Human Rights Violation in Yemen : Critical Analysis
Yemen is caught in the grip of humanitarian crisis for years marked by violations of human rights on a massive scale. There is a chaos going on in the region from years that is affecting the civilians most. There is no decline in deteriorating condition of human rights rather it is accelerating day by day. Unimaginable suffering and deprivation is observed which demands for the global attention and measures. The chaos of war has brought multiple crisis in Yemen that are posing serious threats to human security in the region. It is estimated that half of the Yemeni population more than 18 million people are in dire need of humanitarian assistance in order to survive[xviii]. Moreover, when the conflict produces widespread dilapidation of the surroundings including environment and substructure, it becomes more problematic to revive the livelihood and facilitate the displaced people[xix]. Same is the case in Yemen where people are deprived from basic human rights.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights estimated 17,062 civilian causalities that includes about 6,592 deaths from the year 2015 to 2018[xx]. Apart from a huge impact on the health security of Yemenis, these causalities also brought about the infrastructure damages and economic collapse that led to food insecurity. It is an unimaginable fact that from October 2017 to September 2018, almost 15,170 incidents of airstrikes, bombardments and armed conflicts were faced by the civilians resulting damages to every civilian facility[xxi]. Both the Saudi-led coalition and Iran backed Houthi rebels have been caught up in undiscriminating attacks on civil population. The targeting of basic human facilities like health care, schools and hospitals deprived Yemenis of vital services. This has led to breakout of serious diseases including cholera and diphtheria. Moreover, the recruitment of child soldiers is becoming common in Yemen. About 2.2 million children under the age of five in Yemen require conduct for acute malnutrition. More than 2.5 million children are out or not attending school, and 8.6 million school-aged children need education support[xxii]. Women on the other hand also face violence. For instance, sexual violence and early child marriages. Without protection and support, it is obvious that in situation of war vulnerable actors will be affected the most.
There are four main propositions that why human rights are being continuously violated in Yemen[xxiii]. Firstly, the regime type contributes in human rights violations. The low level of democracy and authoritarian regimes are responsible for unlawful killings and disappearances. Secondly, economic factors which tend to decline Yemen’s GDP are also a factor. Thirdly, civil wars in Yemen where Houthis and government confront each other and impact human rights. Lastly, external actors like the involvement of Iran and Saudi Arabia as they are targeting the civilian population and violating the international law is also a factor that contributes to violations of human rights in Yemen. Apart from that, massive violations of international laws have been done in Yemen since the start of the war since 2011. The International organizations such as UN restricts targeting of civilians in such wars and also the intervention of foreign forces in targeting civilian infrastructure. Moreover, the assistance of the US military to coalition forces organized by Saudi Arabia is also a violation of international law[xxiv].
In October 2022, there was a UN brokered ceasefire was declared where both sides agreed on no major escalatory actions and peace talks between Houthis and Saudi Arabia resumed in April 2023 but these talks were seen nothing more than optimistic statements[xxv]. The Saudi Iran reproachment in 2023 mediated by China is also becoming a hope to end the conflict in Yemen. However, the Israel-Hamas conflict has escalated the tensions once again as the Houthis are supporting Hamas and even warned US not to intervene in the conflict. In response to attacks by Houthis in Red Sea, the US carried airstrikes in Yemen on January 11 and January 22[xxvi]. All in all, peace talks again seems to be in vain.
Conclusion
Peacebuilding becomes more and more problematic when the basic human rights are violated. Same is the case in the forgotten war of Yemen. The root causes traces that not a single civilian is responsible in exacerbating such a deadly war to which they are being victimized. External actors on the territory of Yemen are playing significant role in accelerating the tensions and this all is resulting in form of massive damage to people of Yemen. The human security is challenged in Yemen for years and call for sustained diplomatic engagements, robust support and innovative approaches. The humanitarian crisis in Yemen demands urgent attention of the international community. In conclusion, the plight of Yemeni people today is in dire need of compassion and cooperation
[i] Paul Williams et al., “Untangling the Yemen Crisis Untangling the Yemen Crisis Part of the Human Rights Law Commons, and the International Law Commons,” n.d., https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2823&context=facsch_lawrev.
[ii] “Yemen,” Encyclopedia Britannica, last modified May 1, 2024, https://www.britannica.com/place/Yemen.
[iii] “Yemen Population (2023),” Worldometer – Real Time World Statistics, last modified July 16, 2023, https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/yemen-population/.
[iv] Yara Khoshnaw, “Theseus: How Yemen Became and Has Remained a Territory of Strategic Importance,” Ammattikorkeakoulut – Theseus, last modified 2022, https://www.theseus.fi/handle/10024/753333.
[v] Associate Professor Elliott School of International Affairs Paul D Williams; Dr, Security Studies: An Introduction, ed. Paul D. Williams (London: Routledge, 2008), 230.
[vi] Ibid., 230.
[vii] Ibid., 230.
[viii]Maram Abdulkader, “The forgotten war: Yemen and human security,” Journal of Global Faultlines 10, no. 1 (2023): 45, doi:10.13169/jglobfaul.10.1.0043.
[ix] Jeannie Sowers and Erika Weinthal, “Humanitarian challenges and the targeting of civilian infrastructure in the Yemen war,” International Affairs 97, no. 1 (January 2021): 02, doi:10.1093/ia/iiaa166.
[x] Abdulkader, “The forgotten war,” 44.
[xi] “Human Security: An approach and methodology for business contributions to peace and sustainable development,” LSE Home, accessed May 4, 2024, https://www.lse.ac.uk/ideas/Assets/Documents/project-docs/un-at-lse/LSE-IDEAS-Human-Security-Background.pdf.
[xii] “Yemen: A Brief Background,” Unfoundation.org, accessed May 6, 2024, https://unfoundation.org/what-we-do/issues/peace-human-rights-and-humanitarian-response/yemen-a-brief-background/.
[xiii] Zachary Laub, “Yemen in Crisis,” CFR Backgrounders, last modified April 29, 2015, https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/190632/Backgrounder.
[xiv] “Yemeni Civil War,” Encyclopedia Britannica, last modified January 17, 2024, https://www.britannica.com/event/Yemeni-Civil-War.
[xv] “War in Yemen,” Global Conflict Tracker, last modified March 5, 2024, https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/war-yemen.
[xvi] Ibid.
[xvii] Ibid.
[xviii] “Nine Years On: Economic Downturn Plunges Millions into Poverty in Yemen,” NRC, last modified March 26, 2024, https://www.nrc.no/news/2024/march/nine-years-on-economic-downturn-plunges-millions-into-poverty-in-yemen/.
[xix] Jeannie Sowers and Erika Weinthal, “Humanitarian challenges and the targeting of civilian infrastructure in the Yemen war,” International Affairs 97, no. 1 (January 2021): 02, doi:10.1093/ia/iiaa166.
[xx] Ibid., 07.
[xxi] Ibid., 07.
[xxii] “Yemen Crisis Explained,” How to Help Refugees — Aid, Relief and Donations | USA for UNHCR, last modified March 21, 2024, https://www.unrefugees.org/news/yemen-crisis-explained/#WhendidthecrisisinYemenbegin?.
[xxiii] Abigail Watson, “An Investigation of the Violation of Human Rights in Yemen,” The University of Akron IdeaExchange@UAkron, 2018, 12, https://ideaexchange.uakron.edu/honors_research_projects/811.
[xxiv] John Hursh, “International humanitarian law violations, legal responsibility, and US military support to the Saudi coalition in Yemen: a cautionary tale,” Journal on the Use of Force and International Law 7, no. 1 (June 2020): 03, doi:10.1080/20531702.2020.1782664.
[xxv] “War in Yemen.”
[xxvi] Ibid.
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