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.
First hand accounts of January SEAL raid in Yakla
Independent journalist Iona Craig covers the recent United States military raid in Yemen in a detailed report published by The Intercept. The story focuses on the tragic and horrifying impact of the January raid on the villagers who were caught in the crossfire. Craig conducted interviews with eyewitnesses, revealing the terror experienced by the families living in the village of al-Ghayil and the children who survived the attack, and the confusion and anger of the survivors over why their home was targeted and their family members killed.
March 6-13: States fight new travel ban, Trump seeks to change rules of engagement
Monday, March 6, 2017
US airstrikes killed a former Guantanamo Bay detainee, Yasir al-Silmi, on March 2. Al-Silmi was released from the detention center in 2009, where he had been held for seven years.
President Trump announced a new version of the travel and immigration ban on six Muslim-majority countries today. The changes to the ban include removing Iraq from the list of countries that will be impacted, and shifts in the timeline of implementation, but the order remains extremely discriminatory and is opposed by human rights groups such as Amnesty International (and the YPP).
Human Rights in Yemen in 2016: “Impunity was persistent and pervasive”
The US Department of State recently released their 2016 Human Rights Country Report on the state of human rights in Yemen. According to the report, “impunity was persistent and pervasive” in Yemen, that contributed to gross human rights abuses by multiple actors throughout the year. The greatest human rights issues in Yemen were:
Changing the US Role in Yemen
The American Enterprise Institute’s Katherine Zimmerman recently published a list of policy recommendations for the United States as the Trump administration reevaluates US engagement in Yemen. In this piece, Zimmerman warns the current administration against falling into the role that America played in Yemen under Presidents Obama and Bush, which amounted to “outsourcing US policy to Saudi Arabia.” Instead, she urges the Trump administration to be more independent and self-determining in future dealings with the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.
Feb 27-March 6: US ramps up airstrikes, medical supplies reach Taiz
Monday, February 27, 2017
Foreign policy published an article critiquing the US administration’s approach to the Yemeni civil war. They warn against treating the Houthis as though they are tightly allied with Iran and against greater military involvement in Yemen, stressing that this will likely only strengthen the relationship between the the Houthi movement and Iran.
Trump's Muslim ban, take two
Today, President Trump signed yet another misguided, discriminatory executive order on immigration. This EO updates the January 29 executive order on immigration that banned people traveling from seven Muslim-majority countries – Iraq, Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen – from entering the United States. Despite changes to the scope and timetable, this EO is still legally and morally unacceptable. Rather than keep the US more safe, this order and the January 29 order undermine our national security and contradict American values. The Yemen Peace Project (YPP) calls on the Trump administration to rescind the order, and urges Congress to overturn and defund both executive orders.
Amnesty International: Ongoing Violations of Children's Rights in Yemen
A new report by Amnesty International highlights the recruitment of child soldiers by Houthi forces in Yemen, and the violations of the rights of children by all parties to the conflict. The organization says that new evidence of recruiting tactics used by the Houthis has emerged, shedding light on how these young boys wind up on the front lines of Yemen’s war.
USAID's Yemen Country Study: Humanitarian assistance alone is not enough
USAID released a country study for Yemen in January, summarizing the findings of research conducted in 2016 on the effects of the ongoing conflict. The study focuses on a variety of facets of the Yemeni state, society, and the relationships between the two as the civil war continues, based on interviews conducted in seven different governorates. Research findings covered Yemeni views on the social contract between government and citizens, perceptions of authority figures, the security situation, provision of basic services, social cohesion and trust between citizens, dispute management, and international and civil society organizations.
February 21-27: Government advance on Mokha continues, Trump may investigate Yemen raid
Tuesday, February 21
Nearly 1.4 million children, including many from Yemen, face “imminent death” from starvation, AP reports.
OCHA Releases New Humanitarian Response Plan
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) released their most recent Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) for Yemen last month. The document outlines the objectives OCHA hopes to achieve in the coming year, the number of people in need of assistance in Yemen, how many the organization will target for humanitarian assistance, and what resources are required to do so.
Difficult Decisions for Student-Soldiers in Taiz
A recent report from Middle East Eye focuses on the struggles of students trying to complete their university degrees in the embattled city of Taiz. Taiz is Yemen’s third-largest city and has been under siege for nearly two years; the constant conflict has caused many factories and private companies to close, while government employees have not been paid since August of last year. In an economic environment that leaves locals with few options, many residents, including students, are taking up arms to support themselves and their families.
Social Trust as a Path to Peace
Brookings recently published a piece by Tamara Coffman Wittes, a senior fellow at the Center for Middle East Policy and the author of “Freedom’s Unsteady March: America’s Role in Building Arab Democracy.” In the article, she argues for the importance of improving governance systems in the Middle East as a means for peacebuilding. Noting that discussions of the region often focus on problems such as terrorism, wars, and those displaced by them, she stresses that these issues are merely the symptoms of a larger problem in many Middle Eastern countries which still needs to be addressed.
February 14-20: UN Experts release report, al-Hudaydah campaign continues
Tuesday, February 14, 2017
Houthi forces are reportedly preparing for the oncoming advance of pro-government forces toward al-Hudaydah. Meanwhile, clashes on the Yemen-Saudi border resulted in the deaths of at least 7 Saudi soldiers, according to Al Jazeera.
The Trump administration is considering sending a prisoner held in Yemen, suspected of being a member of al-Qaeda, to Guantanamo Bay. This would be the first time since 2008 that a prisoner was sent there.
UN Expert Panel Urges Effective Use of Targeted Sanctions
The UN Panel of Experts on Yemen released their most recent report on the state of affairs in the country on Friday, February 17. They conclude that a clear-cut military victory by either side is no longer feasible, while neither side shows interest in peace talks or a peaceful settlement. Saudi-led attacks, meanwhile, have done greater damage to civilians and civilian infrastructure than to Houthi forces or morale.
NGOs say women’s inclusion in peacebuilding is crucial
Oxfam and SaferWorld recently released a briefing paper on the role of Yemeni women in local, national and international peacebuilding efforts. The publication highlights the advances in representation that women in Yemen have fought for during the country’s ongoing civil war, the measures necessary to ensure greater and more meaningful participation by women in Yemen’s peace process, and the need to include women as active participants in peacebuilding in order to build a meaningful and lasting peace.
Southern governors call for end to unauthorized arrests
The United Arab Emirates has played a major role in the Saudi-led coalition that backs the Hadi government in Yemen’s ongoing civil war. That role has involved not only humanitarian and military support, but also the training and supervision of local security forces in the South--specifically the Security Belt Forces in and around Aden, and the Hadhrami Elite Forces in Hadhramawt. As we reported last summer, these units have been implicated in extrajudicial raids, arrests, detention, and torture of locals. The governors of Abyan and Hadhramawt governorates recently made announcements calling for an end to these unauthorized activities.
February 7-13: Government forces advance; UN appeal published
The Gulf-backed government forces of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi captured the coastal city of Al-Mokha today, Reuters reported.
YPP’s new report: America’s Role in Yemen
February 6, 2017—Washington, DC – Together with Congress, the Trump administration must immediately suspend all military support for the Saudi Arabia-led coalition bombarding Yemen, act to immediately fund the UN’s humanitarian response plan, and work toward the inclusion of all parties and factions, including non-state fighting groups, in the Yemen peace process and post-war transition. These are among the chief recommendations put forward today by the Yemen Peace Project (YPP) in its new report, America’s Role in Yemen: 2017 and Beyond.
January 27-February 3: US threatens to enter Yemen’s war as protests halt immigration ban
President Trump signed an executive order designed to bar all nationals of Yemen, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Somalia, and Sudan from entering the US for at least 90 days and suspend refugee resettlement for 120 days.