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	Yemen: the world's worst humanitarian crisis by UN News, UNICEF, ICRC, NYT, agencies Yemen   Dec. 2018   35 Yemeni and international organizations call for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Yemen. (Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect)   'As humanitarian, human rights and peacebuilding organizations working on Yemen, we welcome tomorrow's unprecedented coming together of legislators from across nations and parties for the first International Parliamentary Conference for Peace in Yemen to demand their governments work together to end the crisis. With 14 million men, women and children on the brink of famine - half the country's population - there has never been a more urgent time to act.   We call on governments to secure an immediate cessation of hostilities, suspend the supply of arms at risk of being used in Yemen, guarantee unimpeded access and movement for vital imports, condemn any attacks on civilians and other violations of international humanitarian law by any party and support international investigations into these violations, including the work of UN Group of Eminent Experts on Yemen.   Events in recent weeks have added to a long list of examples of disregard by Saudi Arabia for the international rules-based system and have brought renewed focus on the need for the international community, particularly the US, the UK and France, to reassess their partnerships with Riyadh. Any supporter of and arms supplier to the Saudi-Emirati-led coalition bears a special moral and legal responsibility to ensure that the coalition complies with international humanitarian law in Yemen. In light of the ongoing unlawful attacks against civilians by all parties in Yemen, widely documented by the UN Group of Eminent Experts, we add our voices to those of over one million of the global public and reiterate the call we have been making for years to all governments to suspend the supply of all arms at risk of being used in Yemen.   The humanitarian crisis in Yemen is manmade and a direct consequence of the warring parties severe restrictions on access to food, fuel, medical imports and humanitarian aid. The collapse of the Yemeni Rial and the non- payment of public sector workers is adding to the catastrophe. In addition, civilian deaths have increased dramatically in recent months - with 450 civilians killed in just 9 days in August - and violence against women and girls has risen significantly since the conflict escalated.   We call on governments to redouble their efforts to guarantee unimpeded access to essential items, including fuel, in and throughout Yemen, including through the lifeline port of Hodeidah, where civilians have been caught in renewed fighting over the past few days.   Any indiscriminate attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructures, and other violations of international humanitarian law by any party should be publicly condemned by the international community.   Parliamentarians have a special responsibility to represent the voice of their constituents and hold their governments to account. On the eve of the inaugural Paris Peace Forum convened by President Macron to promote peace and improve global governance, we hope this conference will be a wake-up call. There is no military solution to the war in Yemen. Only an inclusive peace process can solve the humanitarian crisis. After almost four years of conflict, Yemenis can't wait any longer'.   http://www.globalr2p.org/publications/717   * R2P Monitor 15.11.18: http://bit.ly/2FquxVQ   Be Outraged by America's Role in Yemen's Misery, by Nicholas Kristof. (New York Times)   The United States supplies bombs and other support for the war that's killed civilians and is creating famine. President Trump didn't mention it at the United Nations, but America is helping to kill, maim and starve Yemeni children. At least eight million Yemenis are at risk of starvation from an approaching famine caused not by crop failures but by our actions and those of our allies. The United Nations has called it the world's worst humanitarian crisis, and we own it.   An American bomb made by Lockheed Martin struck a Yemen school bus last month, killing 51 people. Earlier, American bombs killed 155 mourners at a funeral and 97 people at a market.   Many global security issues involve complex trade-offs, but this is different: Our behavior is just unconscionable.   'Yemen's current crisis is man-made', said David Miliband, the former British foreign secretary and current president of the International Rescue Committee, who recently returned from Yemen. 'This is not a case where humanitarian suffering is the price of winning a war. No one is winning, except the extremist groups who thrive on chaos'.   The United States is not directly bombing civilians in Yemen, but it is providing arms, intelligence and aerial refueling to assist Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as they hammer Yemen with airstrikes, destroy its economy and starve its people. The Saudi aim is to crush Houthi rebels who have seized Yemen's capital and are allied with Iran.   That's sophisticated realpolitik for you: Because we dislike Iran's ayatollahs, we are willing to starve Yemeni schoolchildren.   'The Trump administration has made itself complicit in systematic war crimes', said Kenneth Roth of Human Rights Watch.   Let's be clear, too: This is a bipartisan moral catastrophe. The policy started under President Barack Obama, with safeguards, and then Trump doubled down and removed the safeguards.   'The war in Yemen has prompted today's worst humanitarian catastrophe worldwide', said Robert Malley, president of the International Crisis Group. 'By our actions and inaction, we inevitably are complicit in it'.   I know, I know. All eyes are focused on the reality television show that is the Trump White House. But we can't let Trump suck all the oxygen away from life-or-death issues. Trump drama cannot be allowed to nullify global tragedy.   The carnage in Yemen hasn't stirred more outrage because the Saudis use their blockade to keep out journalists. I've been trying for two years to go, but the Saudis bar aid groups from taking me on relief flights.   Both sides in this civil war have at times behaved brutally, and the only way out is diplomacy. But Saudi Arabia's crown prince seems to prefer famine and a failed state in Yemen to compromise, and the more we provide him weapons the longer we extend the suffering. We should be using our influence to rein the Saudis in, not cheer them on.   To their credit, some members of Congress are trying to stop these atrocities. A bipartisan effort this year, led by Senators Mike Lee, Chris Murphy and Bernie Sanders, tried to limit U.S. support for the Yemen war, and it did surprisingly well, winning 44 votes. New efforts are underway as well.   World leaders are gathered for the United Nations General Assembly, making pious statements about global goals for a better world, but the Assembly is infused with hypocrisy. Russia is up to its elbows in crimes against humanity in Syria, China is detaining perhaps one million Uighurs while also shielding Myanmar from accountability for probable genocide, and the United States and Britain are helping Saudi Arabia commit war crimes in Yemen.   That's pathetic: Four of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council are complicit in crimes against humanity.   Many Americans erupt in fury every time Trump lies, or tweets some inexcusable comment. Please do, but also save outrage for something even more monstrous, the way we are contributing to starvation of children and exacerbating the world's worst humanitarian crisis.   http://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/26/opinion/yemen-united-states-united-nations.html http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/10/26/world/middleeast/saudi-arabia-war-yemen.html http://www.nrc.no/news/2018/september/on-the-record-update-on-situation-in-hodeidah-yemen3/ http://www.opendemocracy.net/north-africa-west-asia/helen-lackner/famine-in-yemen-long-announced-now-on-our-screens/ http://bit.ly/2OSldKE http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/sep/08/australias-arms-deals-ignoring-gross-violations-of-human-rights-ex-defence-official-says http://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/14/blanket-secrecy-surrounds-australian-weapons-sales-to-countries-accused-of-war-crimes http://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/09/arms-companies-failing-to-address-human-rights-risks/   Dec. 2018   Statement in reaction to agreements reached on Yemen in Stockholm by Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council.   'As humanitarians on the ground in Yemen, we welcome the announcement of a ceasefire in Hodeidah and statement of understanding on Taiz with relief and optimism. If implemented in full by all parties the actions agreed today could have the power to change the course of the crisis in Yemen.   I commend the UN Special Envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, for paving this road back to political negotiations, and the parties to the conflict for embarking on it. We urge them now to move forward with commitment and resolve. Promises made in Sweden will only be meaningful when civilians in Yemen see a cessation of hostilities, safe corridors for the movement of people and supplies, and concrete steps to restore the nation's collapsing economy.   Humanitarian organizations in Yemen continue to deliver aid to millions of people who are distressed and desperate for an end to the conflict. We will be working for a long time to halt the crushing impact of this crisis and hope to look back on today's announcement as the turning point for a nation waiting for peace'. http://bit.ly/2Busj2j   http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-talks-truce-agreed-over-key-port-city-hudaydah http://bit.ly/2GbQ4C2   Dec. 2018 (UN News)   The freshly agreed Yemen ceasefire deal covering the key Red Sea governorates of Hudaydah and Taiz has been welcomed by the World Food Programme (WFP), which expressed hope that it would improve access for humanitarians and, just as crucially, commercial shipping.   'This agreement has the potential to allow the ports of Hudaydah and Saleef to operate at near-normal capacity', WFP spokesperson Herve Verhoosel told journalists in Geneva. 'The free flow of commercial food supplies into Yemen we hope will prevent further increases in food prices, which have sky-rocketed in the last few months'.   WFP and other UN agencies have described Hudaydah as the principal lifeline for two-thirds of the population, who have endured suffering on a huge scale since fighting escalated between Government forces and the Houthi opposition, in March 2015.   Before the warring sides agreed a deal at UN-led talks in Sweden this week, clashes had prevented the sustained supply of commercially shipped food and fuel through Hudaydah. This led to a spike in prices which put basic goods beyond the reach of ordinary Yemenis.   'With the conflict intensifying over the recent weeks, we have seen a decrease of 50 per cent in shipments into Hudaydah port as private companies, shipping companies, were reluctant to use the port for security reasons', Mr Verhoosel said. 'We also hope, then, that it will change'.   The UN agency is also hopeful that it will soon regain access to a large milling and storage facility in Hudaydah - the Red Sea Mills - which supplies one-quarter of its flour for millions of people in north and central Yemen.   According to the ceasefire agreement, the UN is to play a significant role in managing the port.   To illustrate the widespread need for assistance in Yemen, Mr Verhoosel noted that in January 2017, WFP delivered aid to 3.5 million people a month, but that this number has now more than tripled. 'It's one of our biggest operations ever', he said, adding that the agency plans to reach up to 12 million people during next month. Of particular concern are children and breastfeeding mothers, 1.5 million of whom will receive additional nutritional support in coming weeks.   Details of the ceasefire agreement were announced by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who said that despite 'pending' unresolved issues, it would improve the lives of millions of people.   In addition to an end to fighting in Hudaydah governorate, the cessation of hostilities also encompasses neighbouring Taizz governorate, where years of conflict in the city have posed serious access challenges to humanitarians.   The WFP Senior Spokesperson said he hoped that the 'peace breakthrough' announced in Sweden would lead to similar agreements elsewhere in Yemen and better humanitarian access to those in need. http://bit.ly/2LnyZUs   Dec. 2018   Yemen: Trying to save a generation. (WFP)   'Even if the war ended tomorrow, the levels of malnutrition it has caused would cast a long shadow into the country's future', says Gwenaelle Garnier, Nutrition in Emergency and preparedness and response consultant with WFP.   'The conflict further exacerbated an already alarming situation', Garnier pointing out that currently 1.8 million Yemeni children are acutely malnourished, 400,000 of whom severely so. Malnutrition also affects 1.1 pregnant and breastfeeding women, with detrimental effects on the physical growth and brain development of their babies.   'Nutrition support is crucial to save lives now and to ensure the country gets back on its feet when peace comes'.   Increasing four-fold the likelihood of early death, malnutrition is taking a heavy toll on Yemeni children. Even those lucky enough to survive will face long-lasting consequences. Malnutrition affects children's performance at school, limits their future job opportunities and ability to work, and has a systemic cost in terms of lost productivity and health care expenses.   'The lack of nutritious food for mothers and children is threatening a whole generation', Garnier adds. 'Nutrition support is crucial to save lives now and to ensure the country gets back on its feet when peace comes'.   Dec. 2018   Yemen: Acute Food Insecurity (Dec. 2018-Jan. 2019)   Yemen's Food Insecurity situation remains Dire despite humanitarian assistance reports the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC)   According to the latest IPC analysis, from December 2018 to January 2019, while accounting for the current levels of Humanitarian Food Assistance (HFA), 17% of the population analyzed (about 5 million people) are in IPC Phase 4 (Emergency) and 36% (about 10.8 million people) in IPC Phase 3 (Crisis). Of greatest concern are the 65,000 people in IPC Phase 5 (Catastrophe).   Overall, this constitutes 15.9 million or 53% of the total population. It is estimated that in the absence of HFA, about 20 million people or 67% of the total population (including Internally Displaced People - IDPs) would be in need of urgent action to save lives and livelihoods. This includes 240,000 people in IPC Phase 5 (Catastrophe), i.e. threefold the actual number.   Food insecurity is more severe in the areas with active fighting, and is particularly affecting IDPs and host families, marginalized groups, as well as landless wage labourers facing difficulties in accessing basic services and conducting livelihood activities. Overall, there are more than 3 million IDPs in Yemen who face comparatively worse food security outcomes.   Armed conflict remains the main driver of food insecurity in Yemen, curtailing food access for both the displaced and the host communities. The food security crisis is further exacerbated by extremely high food prices, the liquidity crisis, disrupted livelihoods, and high levels of unemployment. The large food gaps are only marginally mitigated by Humanitarian Food Assistance which is not adequate to reverse the continuous deterioration of the situation.   Key Drivers of Food Insecurity:   The ongoing conflict and the resultant economic crisis. Disrupted financial and economic access to food. High food prices. Reduced local food production. Access to low quality water and in diminishing quantities   http://www.ipcinfo.org/ipc-country-analysis/details-map/en/c/1151858/ http://www.ipcinfo.org/ http://www.ipcinfo.org/ipc-country-analysis/ http://www.savethechildren.net/article/famine-or-not-120000-children-yemen-are-catastrophic-condition http://www.unicef.org/mena/press-releases/yemens-children-15-million-lives-scarred-and-voices-not-heard   Nov. 2018 (UNICEF)   "Millions of desperate children and families across Yemen will soon be without food, clean water or sanitation services because of the deepening economic crisis and unrelenting violence in the port city of Hudaydah. The confluence of these two factors is likely to make the horrific reality facing children and families even worse as more and more war-weary people face the very real prospect of death and disease.   "The cost of food, fuel and water supplies has skyrocketed as the value of the national currency has plummeted.   "Water and sewage treatment services are at risk of collapse because of soaring fuel prices - meaning many of these same children and families may also be without access to safe water and sanitation. This in turn will lead to disease outbreaks and increased malnutrition - both of which, in combination with food insecurity, raise the risk of famine. An estimated 1.2 million more people will soon be in acute need of basic water and sanitation assistance, and the number is expected to climb in the coming days.   Families who can no longer afford basic food items could soon join the 18.5 million people who are already food insecure - a number projected to rise by 3.5 million, including nearly 1.8 million children.   "These conditions, devastating in their own right, are compounded by the situation in Hudaydah where violence threatens to kill children and choke off an essential supply chain of fuel and humanitarian aid that sustains 28 million Yemenis.   "If the port is attacked, damaged or blocked, an estimated 4 million more children will become food insecure throughout the country.   "The only way out of Yemen's nightmare is to establish peace through a comprehensive political resolution. Until then, UNICEF continues its call on parties to the conflict and those who have influence over them to abide by their legal obligations to stop attacks against civilian infrastructure - including the port of Hudaydah - and guarantee safe, unconditional and sustained access to all children in need in Yemen."   'People in Yemen face two horrifying menaces: war and hunger. Civilians have paid the heaviest price for the conflict. Millions are displaced and millions go to bed hungry every night', said Fabrizio Carboni, the ICRC's regional director for the Near and Middle East.   An ICRC team in Hodeida this week spoke of dreadful living conditions for many thousands of displaced families who own only the clothes they wear and survive on a little rice or a thin mix of flour and water, if they find any food to eat at all.   The depreciation of the Riyal, reduced imports and difficulty of movement in the country have had alarming repercussions on the country's already catastrophic humanitarian situation.   Indebted and vulnerable, millions across Yemen survive on one meal per day. Every day many Yemeni families must choose between food and medicine', Carboni said.   The cost of living has skyrocketed. Prices for flour, sugar, rice and milk have increased by 30 percent since last month and surpass the modest budgets of most Yemeni families, whose savings have been depleted by long years of conflict.   Clean water and medication are also a luxury in Yemen, where vital infrastructure is crumbling, a fact that has led to an increase in infectious diseases such as cholera and measles.   According to the World Food Programme: "Yemen is the largest hunger crisis in the world. Millions of people are living on the edge of famine and the situation is getting worse by the day".   http://www.savethechildren.net/article/yemen-85000-children-may-have-died-starvation-start-war http://bit.ly/2AhYG56 http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/living-hell-children-unicef-regional-director-geert-cappelaere-remarks-situation http://bit.ly/2SQvNEm http://bit.ly/2PPNjcV http://bit.ly/2PncfsT http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/35-organizations-call-immediate-ceasefire-yemen http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-prospects-peace-do-not-excuse-violations-hodeida-battle http://theelders.org/article/elders-call-un-security-council-take-urgent-credible-action-lift-yemen-blockade   http://www.msf.org/yemen http://www.icrc.org/en/document/yemen-political-solution-needed-end-intense-suffering-yemeni-families http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-final-call http://fews.net/east-africa/yemen/alert/october-24-2018 http://bit.ly/2QHEJui http://fews.net/ http://reliefweb.int/topics/fighting-famine-nigeria-somalia-south-sudan-and-yemen http://www.humanitarianresponse.info/en/operations/yemen http://www.ochayemen.org/hpc/ http://www.unicef.org/appeals/yemen.html Visit the related web page
	Development and Security rely on Peace, Justice and Inclusion by 85 non-government peacebuilding organizations   If current trends persist, by 2030 more than half of the world's poor will be living in countries affected by high levels of violence. Yet, resources devoted to peacebuilding and prevention represent only a fraction of those for crisis response and reconstruction.   Similarly, while the new international frameworks for development, humanitarian action, and peace and security have highlighted the need to focus on peace, justice and inclusion, little has changed in practice.   Member States have affirmed the centrality of peace and prevention,first through their commitment to 'foster peaceful, just and inclusive societies' in the 2030 Agenda, and then with the twin resolutions on Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace.   Recent research and analysis, including the UN World Bank study Pathways for Peace:Inclusive Approaches to Preventing Violent Conflict and the new report The Missing Peace: Independent Progress Study on Youth, Peace and Security, have reaffirmed the necessity of mechanisms for addressing difference and grievances, of strengthening social resilience, and supporting processes that increase trust and inclusion.   Despite this growing body of evidence, in many cases governments are pursuing security using militarized approaches, either in the absence of, or in isolation from, policies that decrease exclusion and inequality - core drivers of conflict. This has been accompanied by an eroding commitment to long-term multilateral approaches to global challenges.   Rather than embracing diversity, many governments are actively seeking to shrink the already limited space available to civil society actors, locally, nationally and in international settings.   If we are to have a hope of eliminating extreme poverty, fostering sustainablypeaceful and prosperous societies worldwide, and addressing conflict and its roots, then governments need to urgently re-align their priorities.   The 73rd session of the UN General Assembly provides many opportunities for Member States to re-commit to peace.   The year begins with the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the convening of the Nelson Mandela Peace Summit. It will then include an interim report by the UN Secretary-General on implementing peacebuilding and sustaining peace, and the High Level Political Forum where SDG16 will be reviewed.   The year will also see an increasing focus on preparations for the 74th session, which will feature the quadrennial 2030 Agenda Summit and the comprehensive review of the UN Peacebuilding Architecture.   As organizations devoted to the building of peace around the world, we call on the international community to take these steps:   Fully embrace the commitments to peace in the 2030 Agenda: One of the main achievements of the 2030 Agenda was to commit to a radically different approach to development in conflict-affected and transitional environments, where the traditional approaches of the MDGs had largely failed.   Fostering inclusion, ensuring access to justice, strengthening the social fabric and delivering good governance have repeatedly been shown to be essential to achieving development outcomes.   Progress against the 36 targets across the 2030 Agenda that are necessary to achieve peace, justice and inclusion needs to be highlighted in all SDG reporting at all levels, reflecting the role of peace as an indispensable condition of development.   Reaffirm a commitment to human rights, the foundation for human dignity and just societies: The theme for this year's International Day of Peace is The Right to Peace - the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at 70. Human rights, including economic, social and cultural rights, are the foundation of a world order based on equality and inclusion, and are the ultimate yardstick against which we can measure the 2030 Agenda aspiration of 'no-one left behind'.   It is time for Member States to fully commit to the equal importance of the three UN pillars of development, human rights and peace and security, and to support efforts to mainstream and integrate human rights norms, tools and methods.   Foster social resilience by strengthening inclusion and addressing inequality: Peace issues are core to the discussion of resilience. Resilient societies are those where the social fabric is strong. They are just and inclusive, where the relationships between individuals, their communities and the state are based on trust and the respect, protection and fulfillment of everyone's human rights, and where there are robust mechanisms for addressing inequalities, difference and grievance.   Fostering resilience is the foundation of long-term preventive efforts, from preventing conflict to reducing the impact of internal and external crises, natural and man-made, and requires action both to accompany local efforts and also to provide a supportive international environment.   Think local and act global: recommit to multilateralism as a safeguard for the most vulnerable: National implementation alone will not suffice to achieve the SDGs: 40% of the SDG 16+targets require implementation at regional and international levels.   This is particularly the case with issues of peace, where fostering the external drivers of peace, justice and inclusion requires concerted action by states, as duty holders, to support responsible trade, reduce arms flows, promote constructive financial, tax and investment practices, and to strengthen a rules-based system that creates a more effective enabling environment that privileges the long-term peace, development and human rights needs of all people and communities.   Protect and support civil society in fostering sustainable peace: Social, political and economic changes that contribute to increasing peace are more robust if they are owned, implemented and sustained by local actors, including youth and women.   Nevertheless, civil society inclusion continues to be under threat around the world, with onerous restrictions imposed on the ability of civil society groups to be effective, speak out and access funding. We call on Member States to recommit their support for and partnership with local and community actors, and for the UN system to model inclusion in all its local and global processes. http://bit.ly/2m4uS7q Visit the related web page
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