The Yemeni Coalition for Human Rights, in cooperation with the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, on 1 July organized a public symposium on the sidelines of the 56th session of the UN Human Rights Council. Titled ‘Open the Road’, the symposium was part of a campaign launched early this year by the coalition and CIHRS, which has seen much engagement by local initiatives, media outlets and platforms, and millions of citizens on social media. As a result of this engagement, the campaign has successfully pressured local authorities to recently open some roads . The campaign will continue to lobby parties to the conflict in Yemen to open all main roads and ensure that travelers are protected from armed groups, landmines, and the lack of services. The coalition will also continue to pressure the international community to reopen the road to accountability for ongoing crimes in Yemen against civilians, especially women and children.
The symposium, attended by members of the delegations of Austria, Belgium, and Switzerland, and a member of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, featured Bahia al-Sakkaf, chairwoman of PASS Foundation, Peace for Sustainable Societies; Mahdi Belghaith, president of Human Rights Accountability; and Thuraya Dammaj, editor-in-chief of Yemen Future Foundation for Cultural and Media Development. The discussion was moderated by Mayssa Achek, the international advocacy officer at the CIHRS.
Bahia al-Sakkaf began her talk by pointing to the catastrophic results of the failure of regional and international efforts to maintain the ceasefire agreement between the internationally recognized government and Ansar Allah (the Houthis), which has exacerbated economic and social conditions. She said that while militias and armed groups profit off the war economy, economic and social conditions for citizens are further deteriorating.
Sakkaf said the donors’ meeting in Brussels in May failed to secure the necessary funding to cover the Yemen emergency humanitarian response plan. Pledges were received for just one-quarter of the total amount needed, which is the lowest funding commitment by donors since the beginning of the conflict, in a sign of the waning interest of the international humanitarian community in one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. According to Sakkaf, the decline in funding for UN relief programs, international organizations, and local civil society groups in Yemen has exacerbated the humanitarian crisis. In fact, some relief programs have ground to a halt, and the World Food Program has suspended operations in densely populated areas controlled by the Houthis.
In addition, more than fifty employees of UN and international bodies and local organizations have been arrested in Sanaa for allegedly spying for the United States. A smear campaign has been launched against the detained staff, particularly against the women arrested, as media platforms and mosques have been used to mobilize public opinion against them and stigmatize them as traitors and collaborators with the US and the West. ‘This sets a precedent that threatens the lives of all workers in this field and their families, especially women’, Sakkaf said, ‘and it sets the stage for further violations and restrictions on the civic, human rights, and humanitarian space and those operating in it’. Sakkaf called on UN member states to reconsider their policies towards the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, urging them to pressure the parties to the conflict to respect human rights principles and immediately form an independent international investigation instrument. She also called on the parties to the conflict who are currently in Oman, which is leading mediation efforts on prisoners held by both parties to the conflict, to put the question of detainees and their immediate release at the top of their agenda.
In his intervention, Mahdi Belghaith focused on the alarming humanitarian and economic situation in Marib, which he described as a ‘large prison’ where citizens are completely cut off from the rest of the country, trapped between the fighting fronts and closed roads, and deprived of vital aid and medical care. Belghaith related many stories of endless human suffering in Marib. Pregnant women must travel long distances to reach hospitals that lack basic equipment, endangering their lives and those of their children, while disabled children face difficulties in receiving treatment and navigating desert roads. In addition, the closure of roads has exacerbated the plight of internally displaced persons (IDPs), who constitute a large proportion of the population of Marib. More than 17,883 IDPs in Marib suffer from infectious diseases and none of the 147 camps have a permanent clinic. On the economic level, restrictions on movement have contributed to high prices on goods and transport, which have increased more than 208 percent since 2013.
In his recommendations, Belghaith urged the international community to intervene effectively to end the suffering of civilians in Marib by supporting local mediation initiatives, facilitating their humanitarian work, and opening the roads. Belghaith called on the Office of the UN Envoy to redouble its efforts and pressure the parties to the conflict to accelerate the opening of the main roads in Yemen, first and foremost the Marib–Nahm–Sanaa Road and the Marib–Sirwah–Sanaa Road. Belghaith stressed the importance of maintaining the neutrality of roads and public services and facilitating citizens’ access to health and education services.
Thoraya Dammaj spoke of the siege of Taiz and developments in recent days, recounting the scenes of travelers flocking to the city in the wake of the recent announcement that one of the main roads of Taiz was opened. Damaj said that the situation in Taiz offered a stark encapsulation of the impact of the siege on civilians: ‘The trip between Taiz and Aden used to take no more than three and a half hours, while currently it takes the average traveler ten hours. Trucks carrying heavy freight need twenty-two hours to reach Taiz. She continued: ‘According to human rights and official reports, travel on the alternative road (Hija al-Abd) led to the death of 152 people and injury of 21 between 2017 and 2021 as a result of vehicles overturning. The use of alternative, rocky roads by the populace under the siege caused 481 traffic accidents, which resulted in 374 deaths and 966 injuries and losses estimated at $475 million’.
On 13 June 2024, the Houthis announced that they would unilaterally open the Jawlat al-Qasr Road, but the circumstances surrounding this measure are worrying. Several civilians in transit and returning to their homes were arrested by security personnel affiliated with the internationally recognized government, according to observers. Absent international cover and a explicit political agreement, the measure may quickly stall.
In this context, Dammaj called on the parties to the conflict to bow to popular demands to open the rest of the roads, specifically the three main roads east and north of the city (Hoh al-Ashraf Road, Kalaba Road, and Asifrat al-Hujla Road), and to ensure the protection and dignity of citizen travelers and prohibit arbitrary stops, including the search of cars and phones and breaches of citizens’ privacy. She also urged the Houthis to hand over a map of landmines planted in the sprawling periphery around Taiz, stressing the need for UN and international monitoring of the opening of roads and the removal of landmines.
Following their presentations, the speakers received a series of interventions and questions from attendees, among whom were state delegation representatives, UN officials, international journalists, regional and international human rights organizations, and defenders of human rights and the rights of women, marginalized groups, and minorities.
Watch the symposium in full here:
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