What is the solution to end the conflict in Yemen?

The United Nations is working to find a viable solution to establish lasting peace in Yemen.

People receive aid in Hays, Hodeida province, western Yemen. Photo: AFP

Recently, the Chairman of the Presidential Council of Yemen (PLC), Rashad al-Alimi, met with the United Nations Special Envoy, Hans Grundberg, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to discuss the peace process in the country.

Here, Mr. Grundberg briefed Mr. Al-Alimi on the results of recent regional and international meetings he had attended. The UN official stated that the opportunity to launch a comprehensive political process to restore peace to Yemen, fulfilling the aspirations of its people, was drawing near.

Mr. Grundberg emphasized that the tasks of restoring state institutions, ensuring security and stability, and establishing lasting peace are three of the priorities of the current political negotiation process.

For his part, Mr. Al-Alimi affirmed the PLC's commitment to supporting Mr. Grundberg's efforts in accordance with relevant UN Security Council resolutions. The PLC chairman also emphasized the importance of coordinating international efforts to revive the path to peace and alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people.

Earlier, regional media reported that the Yemeni government and Houthi forces had declared their readiness to resume UN-sponsored negotiations on prisoner exchanges to kickstart the peace process in the country.

The Yemeni government's Prisoner Affairs Committee has called on the UN and the International Red Cross Committee to continue facilitating prisoner exchanges between warring parties in Yemen without preconditions. The committee also reaffirmed the Yemeni government's commitment to the release of all prisoners.

For their part, Houthi leaders in the capital Sanaa affirmed their readiness to participate in the next round of negotiations on prisoner exchanges as a basis for moving towards peace talks.

It can be confirmed that, thanks to UN-mediated negotiations in March 2023, approximately 900 prisoners were released in April 2023, marking the second largest prisoner exchange between warring parties in Yemen since the conflict began in the country more than eight years ago.

Among those released were Nasser Mansour Hadi, brother of former Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, and former Yemeni Defense Minister Mahmoud Al Subeihi. The prisoner exchange is part of ongoing efforts to build trust between the Yemeni government and Houthi forces. It is also seen as an important step demonstrating both sides' commitment to upcoming negotiations aimed at achieving lasting peace in Yemen.

Analysts believe that the ongoing negotiations in Yemen promise the possibility of more prisoners being released, ending the suffering of thousands in this impoverished Arab nation.

Yemen has been mired in protracted conflict since Houthi rebels seized control of several northern cities and ousted the Yemeni government from the capital, Sanaa, in 2014. The conflict has plunged the poorest nation in the Arab world into a severe humanitarian crisis, including widespread famine. This UN-brokered negotiation promises to offer a glimmer of hope for peace in Yemen in the near future.

HN compilation

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