Twenty-two Yemeni experts, peace advocates, and political and civil society leaders opened up about how they experienced the nearly decade-long war in Yemen, what peace means to them, and how they believe it can be achieved.

The twenty-two voices in this video are among nearly 300 participants who took part in a series of consultative meetings focusing on inclusion convened by the Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen (OSESGY) together with UN Women. Since October, consultative meetings took place in Aden, Amman, and Cairo to elevate Yemeni women’s voices and provide the space to discuss a bottom-up vision for an inclusive process in Yemen.

The series of meetings is designed to increase the participation of women and promote a holistic approach to the concept of inclusive peace, bringing together women and men, local voices with the diaspora, and Yemenis from across the country. In the meetings, participants discussed short- and long-term priorities, measures to ensure the inclusivity of the political process, in particular the inclusion of women, guiding principles for peacebuilding in Yemen, and ways to enhance accountability and transparency when implementing agreements.

For the short-term, several areas of consensus emerged including the urgent need for humanitarian relief in Yemen, the resumption of the payment of public sector salaries, opening roads, and the release of all conflict-related detainees. In all three meetings, most participants viewed these measures as appropriate confidence-building entry points.

Other frequently raised confidence-building measures included coordination to address the issue of land mines and de-escalating the media discourse and refraining from the incitement of violence. They also highlighted the importance of a holistic approach to addressing long-term priorities.

Expert panelists sharing their experience – Cairo Consultation

Accountability emerged as a consensual guiding principle across the board. Almost all working groups in all three meetings recommended measures to establish oversight measures that include local communities and civil society organizations, including women, to ensure the effective implementation of agreements.

Another prominent guiding principle was inclusivity. Participants stressed the need to enhance the inclusivity of any upcoming formal negotiations process under UN auspices to ensure mediated solutions are sustainable, just, and responsive to the needs of the Yemeni people in all its diversity. In particular, they stressed the importance of the effective participation of women through all stages and levels of the peace process, and the inclusion of youth, civil society organizations, local communities, and marginalized groups. 

Participants during the meetings – Amman Consultation