Experts reduce the chance of achieving peace in Yemen in isolation from the economy
English - Sunday 16 April 2023 الساعة 01:04 pm
Al-Mocha, NewsYemen, exclusive:
Local and international experts have underestimated the opportunity for peacemaking in Yemen, which is currently being discussed in Sana'a, stressing that Yemen needs reconstruction plans and paths of reconciliation and economic recovery to achieve peace.
A Saudi delegation and another from Amman left Sana'a the day before yesterday, after holding talks on ending the conflict. On Friday, a three-day process began to exchange about 900 prisoners.
Hisham al-Omeisy, a conflict analyst and senior adviser on Yemen at the Brussels-based European Institute for Peace, doubts that exclusive peace talks between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis can lead to tangible peace.
He said, "Yemen has 21 governorates with 333 districts, each with its own unique problems. Without inclusiveness, without a bottom-up approach in Yemen, any peace process will not be sustainable."
Al-Omeisy said that Yemen needs reconstruction plans, paths of reconciliation and economic recovery to achieve peace, and "without all of that, and without confidence-building measures as well, we do not control the current peace talks."
On the other hand, diplomats warn of some of the main caveats of this moment of "real progress", as the Yemeni Presidential Council, the internationally recognized government, did not participate in the negotiations, and other warring parties in the conflict, such as the Southern Transitional Council, did not participate.
As the images from the conversations show, no women or other marginalized groups were included in the discussions at all.
In their view, the deal does not address the massive investments it would require to rebuild Yemen's nearly battered economy or help traumatized and war-weary civilians recover from the conflict in the long term.
Scott Paul, senior director of humanitarian policy at Oxfam America, says the deal could bring immediate relief to Yemen's most vulnerable population and help sizing the war-torn economy, but sustainable peace remains elusive.
Paul believes that the current peace negotiations are promising, because they have the potential to address some of the main drivers of the economic collapse in Yemen.
"But this round of talks will not bring sustainable peace, and to do that, the parties and mediators must lay the groundwork for an inclusive Yemeni-led political process that includes the voices and priorities of women, youth, and other marginalized groups," he added.
The deal, Scott Paul said, does not address the massive investments it would require to rebuild Yemen's nearly battered economy or help traumatized and war-weary civilians recover from the conflict in the long term.
But the expert on Yemeni affairs, Badr Al-Qahtani, believes that both Yemen and the Gulf will benefit from the peace agreement.
Al-Qahtani said, "Yemen is a neighboring country to the Gulf states, which have huge economies and are fully aware of the fact that they cannot grow in the presence of an unstable neighboring country."
He added, "Yemen can benefit from the economic privileges of the Gulf regime, making peace not only a political agreement but also a step that would help Yemen move away from a difficult situation towards a better one."
