Yemen Political Dialogue Support Programme (PDSP)

Conflict Setting

Root causes of the conflict and structural challenges for a peaceful solution

The reasons for the war in Yemen were manifold. The two main internal causes for the war are a) an elite-conflict over control of the Yemeni state and b) the lack of mutually accepted (inclusive) mechanisms to solve the conflict peacefully. There are two additional structural conflicts that further contributed to the war: c) the Saudi-Iranian struggle for hegemony over the region and d) the deep-rooted mistrust of many in Southern Yemen vis-a-vis the North. These root causes and contributing factors need to be addressed to end the war, either during the negotiations or during the subsequent political dialogue.

Yemen between war and dialogue

The war in Yemen has been dragging on since 2014. Fighting escalated in summer 2014 between supporters of President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and his allies in government, notably the Islah party on the one side and the supporters of Ansar Allah (“Houthis”) and the former President Ali Abdullah Salih on the other side. It further intensified, when in March 2015 Hadi and his government had to flee the country into exile and the Arab Coalition, led by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), entered the war. Despite large-scale fighting that has displaced millions of Yemenis and dramatic infighting within the opposing blocks—which saw the Houthi Movement kill former President Saleh and the Southern Transitional Council break away from the internationally recognised government for a time—the front lines of the conflict have moved little since mid-2015.

The results of the war are devastating. Tens of thousands have been killed by the fighting, hundreds of thousands have died from malnutrition and disease and millions have been forced to flee their homes. Crucial infrastructure has been destroyed and basic service delivery relies almost entirely on international aid.

Three rounds of UN-led political negotiations in 2015 and 2016 and attempts to broker a ceasefire since 2018 did not significantly move the peace process along. In 2022, a 6-month truce was agreed, which has significantly decreased levels of violence but did not lead to a sustainable political settlement. Since 7 October 2023, Yemen has seen renewed fighting on its territory – both in areas controlled by Ansar Allah as well as areas controlled by the internationally recognised government. The strong regional entanglement of the conflict complicates attempts at Yemeni-Yemeni dialogue.

Key actors

We work with all relevant Yemeni, regional, and international stakeholders. These include the Yemeni parties directly involved in the conflict at leadership and more technical level as well as other Yemeni political parties and movements. In addition, we engage with key regional stakeholders and ensure communication and coordination with the international community.

Partners

Our main partner in the PDSP is the Political Development Forum Yemen.

Funders

Our activities are currently funded by the German Federal Foreign Office.

The PDSP encompasses the following areas of engagement:

• High-level problem-solving consultations: Inclusive track 2 and track 1.5 consultation meetings outside Yemen with eminent personalities with links or affiliations to political parties and movements as well as with youth and women representatives regularly take place outside of Yemen. The meetings are organized in close coordination with the office of the UN Special Envoy for Yemen. The discussions focus on a range of topics and themes, for example elements of a political solution, interim security mechanisms, the restoration of state functionality, the Southern issue, local governance, inclusive local security, political dialogue, national partnership, trust and confidence building measures.
• Multiparty consensus-building: Multiparty consultation meetings in country provide a space for relevant parties to engage with unresolved and emerging issues in different localities. The PDSP currently has three multiparty platforms in Aden, Mukalla and Taiz. The groups consist of mid- and high-level political actors representing the main components and political parties and they continue to meet on a regular basis despite military escalations in different areas.
• Capacity-building and negotiation support: The PDSP further offers capacity-building and negotiation support activities to all Yemeni parties. Mapping papers, think pieces, and expert papers are being produced to deepen the discussions in the various thematic areas, provide analysis on the changing dynamics in some areas of Yemen, and develop options for discussion with the Yemeni parties.