“The situation needs us to be active”: Youth contributions to peacebuilding in Yemen
More than four years of brutal conflict in Yemen have had a catastrophic effect on the country and its people, leaving millions without access to adequate food, water, housing or healthcare. The conflict has also taken a heavy toll on the country’s youth activists. Young people continue to play vital roles across Yemen, demonstrating adaptability and innovation in their responses to the challenging context. They have launched projects to document human rights violations, provided psychosocial support, set up social enterprises, responded to urgent humanitarian needs – such as filling water tanks and organising food packages and first-aid kits for people with chronic diseases – and spread messages of peace at local, national and international levels.
This report draws on our experience of working with youth organisations and activists in Yemen since 2010, including interviews and focus groups with young women and men activists throughout the country. The report looks at the ways in which Yemeni youth are working towards peace, and identifies actions that donors, diplomats, international non-governmental organisations and the United Nations can take to support Yemeni youth on the front line of peacebuilding.
