The situation in Yemen – today, right now, to the population of the country – looks like the apocalypse,” said the UN OCHA’s head of office in January. At present, Yemen faces a humanitarian crisis as a result of intersecting civil wars and a geopolitical chess match waged by the Saudi coalition and Houthi fighters in Yemen’s northern regions. While Yemen is deeply fractured, it is not beyond repair.
To move toward a future beyond war will require a long-term vision; policymakers must focus not simply on securing a ceasefire. They need to develop medium and long-term strategies to rebuild. Yemen’s mission objective is to become a stable, viable, and unified state that is accountable to its citizens and operates as a good regional neighbor.
This vision for Yemen will require: inclusive peace negotiations, good governance, an effective transitional justice system, critical infrastructure, and attention to macroeconomic stability and job opportunities. The central question for policy makers is: How do we get there?