The Yemen Peace Project

is dedicated to supporting Yemeni individuals and organizations working to create positive change; advancing peaceful, constructive US policies toward Yemen; defending the rights of Yemenis in the diaspora; and increasing understanding of Yemen in the wider world.

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our Vision

Founded in 2010, the YPP works toward a future in which constructive American engagement enables self-determination and peaceful, democratic governance for all Yemenis.

OUR GOALS

To help Yemenis and Yemeni Americans make their voices heard at all levels of government;

To promote policies that respect international law and the rights of the Yemeni people;

To provide policymakers and the public with accurate information about Yemeni affairs;

To foster mutual understanding through media and the arts;

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our programs

ADVOCACY
 

The YPP is America’s first and only advocacy organization dedicated solely to Yemeni affairs and the US-Yemen relationship.

The Yemeni empowerment fund

The Yemeni Empowerment Fund exists to help Yemeni individuals and organizations create positive change in their communities, their countries, and the wider world. 

Sign up for updates from the YPP

Sign up below to receive our weekly newsletter, with up-to-date coverage of events in Yemen, and our action alerts, which allow our readers to be a part of our advocacy efforts in the US.

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from the blog

Featured
October 6-11: UN children's rights body condemns airstrikes; Congress threatens to block arms sales to KSA

10/6

Baseem al-Jenani reported that Houthi forces attempted to force residents of the al-Ja’bali neighborhood of al-Rabsah in Hudaydah to leave their homes in order to convert their houses into military barracks.

Read More →
US Support for Coalition Civilian Targeting, March 2018 - Today

Since the Saudi- and UAE-led coalition began its intervention in Yemen’s civil war, the United States government has provided its indiscriminate air campaign with munitions, mid-air refueling, and still-unclear forms of targeting assistance. As civilian casualties have mounted, US officials have repeatedly claimed that US assistance is making things better, not worse.

This timeline of airstrikes, counting from March 2018 and updated periodically, throws these statements in stark relief. The timeline tracks major coalition airstrikes against civilians, alongside administration testimony to Congress and the press that the United States is making things better. Even if the coalition were marginally improving, as claimed, in the face of significant and ongoing coalition war crimes, the United States has one workable option: withdraw support to the air campaign and exercise existing military and diplomatic leverage over the coalition to arrest the worst of the violence, alleviate the humanitarian crisis, and move its support for the political solution beyond mere rhetoric.

Read More →
September 24-October 4: US Congress takes up war powers bill, MSF withdraws from al-Dhali'

9/24

Save the Children reported, using data from ACLED (Armed Conflict Location and Event Data), that at least 685 civilians have been killed in Yemen between June and the end of August, with 51% of these casualties (about 349 civilians) attributed to the Hudaydah campaign alone.

9/25

President Trump announced his intention to appoint Christopher Paul Henzel to replace Matthew Tueller as US Ambassador to Yemen. The American embassy has been based in Saudi Arabia since the Houthi-Saleh coup in early 2015.

Human Rights Watch released a report detailing cases of hostage-taking orchestrated by the Houthis, which includes inhumane detention, torture, and murder.

Read More →

weekly news summaries

Each week we summarize the most important stories from Yemen. You can receive these updates by email by subscribing to our newsletter above.

Featured
October 6-11: UN children's rights body condemns airstrikes; Congress threatens to block arms sales to KSA

10/6

Baseem al-Jenani reported that Houthi forces attempted to force residents of the al-Ja’bali neighborhood of al-Rabsah in Hudaydah to leave their homes in order to convert their houses into military barracks.

September 24-October 4: US Congress takes up war powers bill, MSF withdraws from al-Dhali'

9/24

Save the Children reported, using data from ACLED (Armed Conflict Location and Event Data), that at least 685 civilians have been killed in Yemen between June and the end of August, with 51% of these casualties (about 349 civilians) attributed to the Hudaydah campaign alone.

9/25

President Trump announced his intention to appoint Christopher Paul Henzel to replace Matthew Tueller as US Ambassador to Yemen. The American embassy has been based in Saudi Arabia since the Houthi-Saleh coup in early 2015.

Human Rights Watch released a report detailing cases of hostage-taking orchestrated by the Houthis, which includes inhumane detention, torture, and murder.

September 15-21: Griffiths meets Houthis in San’a, humanitarian outlook worsens

9/15

The World Food Program reported that their Red Sea Mill Silos, which “mill a quarter of the WFP’s monthly wheat requirements,” came under attack. Additionally, a mortar shell was launched by an unidentified armed group at another WFP warehouse location. This warehouse was reported to be holding enough food for 19,200 people. Since these incidents, the WFP has been unable to deliver aid to civilians.  

Key Readings

Our Readings page summarizes important reports and studies by other organizations and respected experts.

Featured
Power Struggles in Ta'iz Pitch Aligned Groups Against Each Other, Report Finds

While the war in Yemen is often portrayed as having two sides---the Houthis aligned with GPC-San’a against the Saudi-led coalition and Hadi’s government forces--in reality, both sides are fragmented, with groups representing different political loyalties, often resulting in conflict among the groups within each alliance.

The ambiguous decline of jihadist militancy in Yemen

A July 2018 policy paper by Dr. Elisabeth Kendall for the Middle East Institute explores the gradual development of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and the Islamic State in Yemen (ISY), and the conditions each organization require to succeed. Kendall analyzes the structures of AQAP and challenges the organization has faced. She also compares AQAP to ISY and considers their recent decentralizations. She urges key conflict actors to take actions to ultimately end the war and act now to restrict jihadist militancy in Yemen.

The role of women transforms during wartime, AWAM Development Foundation study finds

In May 2018, the Awam Development Foundation, in partnership with Oxfam and the Youth Leadership Development Foundation, produced a report titled The  Impacts of War on the Participation of Women in Civil Society Organizations and Peacebuilding. The study explores the ways in which the war in Yemen is affecting women across various industries and regions. A study team conducted interviews in the San’a, Aden, Hudaydah and Ibb governorates, examining the life of average Yemeni women and their roles, or lack thereof, as peace builders in their communities. The evidence gathered from these interviews culminated in new recommendations intended for both national and international policymakers.

ON THE BLOG

Featured
October 6-11: UN children's rights body condemns airstrikes; Congress threatens to block arms sales to KSA

10/6

Baseem al-Jenani reported that Houthi forces attempted to force residents of the al-Ja’bali neighborhood of al-Rabsah in Hudaydah to leave their homes in order to convert their houses into military barracks.

Read More →
US Support for Coalition Civilian Targeting, March 2018 - Today

Since the Saudi- and UAE-led coalition began its intervention in Yemen’s civil war, the United States government has provided its indiscriminate air campaign with munitions, mid-air refueling, and still-unclear forms of targeting assistance. As civilian casualties have mounted, US officials have repeatedly claimed that US assistance is making things better, not worse.

This timeline of airstrikes, counting from March 2018 and updated periodically, throws these statements in stark relief. The timeline tracks major coalition airstrikes against civilians, alongside administration testimony to Congress and the press that the United States is making things better. Even if the coalition were marginally improving, as claimed, in the face of significant and ongoing coalition war crimes, the United States has one workable option: withdraw support to the air campaign and exercise existing military and diplomatic leverage over the coalition to arrest the worst of the violence, alleviate the humanitarian crisis, and move its support for the political solution beyond mere rhetoric.

Read More →
September 24-October 4: US Congress takes up war powers bill, MSF withdraws from al-Dhali'

9/24

Save the Children reported, using data from ACLED (Armed Conflict Location and Event Data), that at least 685 civilians have been killed in Yemen between June and the end of August, with 51% of these casualties (about 349 civilians) attributed to the Hudaydah campaign alone.

9/25

President Trump announced his intention to appoint Christopher Paul Henzel to replace Matthew Tueller as US Ambassador to Yemen. The American embassy has been based in Saudi Arabia since the Houthi-Saleh coup in early 2015.

Human Rights Watch released a report detailing cases of hostage-taking orchestrated by the Houthis, which includes inhumane detention, torture, and murder.

Read More →

ON TWITTER

 

ON THE PODCAST

Featured
Share your perspective on the war in Yemen

We want to hear what you think about the conflict in Yemen and America’s role in Yemeni affairs. Record an audio message using your mobile phone or computer, and email it to us at mafraj@yemenpeaceproject.org. We’ll include your message in an upcoming episode of the Mafraj Radio podcast and post it on the Mafraj Blog. We welcome comments on any aspect of the conflict, but here are a few prompts to get you started:

  • Should the United States continue to support the Saudi-led coalition’s intervention in Yemen?
  • Do you think the planned coalition campaign to capture/liberate al-Hudaydah is a good idea?
  • If you were in charge of the peace process, what would you do to bring the warring parties back to the negotiating table?

We look forward to hearing from you!

Read More →
Mafraj Radio #29: America at war

Welcome to the long-awaited fourth season of Mafraj Radio, the official podcast of the Yemen Peace Project. I’m Will Picard. On this episode we’ll discuss America’s role in Yemen’s civil war, and the Trump administration’s efforts to block citizens of Yemen and five other nations from entering the United States. And we’ll meet one of the many Yemeni immigrants who call America home.

Read More →
Mafraj Radio #28: Wartime Journal bonus episode

This episode features another entry in our Wartime Journal series. We’ve asked contributors in different parts of Yemen to record audio journal entries for us, conveying their own personal experience of Yemen’s ongoing war. Our first installments featured recordings by an anonymous civil servant living in San’a. That same contributor offers her observations on how Yemen’s war has pushed millions of Yemenis into deep poverty, and even starvation. 

Read More →

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