Why the Time Has Come for a Peace Deal in Yemen

With the ceasefire agreement in place, it is smart politics and smart move - and it is enormously popular with the international civil society. Yemen needs a peace deal and it needs it now.

News ID: 442562

Date: 22 December 2018 - 00:06

RNA - As the United Nations and international aid agencies warn ever more urgently that the terrible humanitarian situation could get worse with famine and brutal war, and must immediately transform into an effective agenda to avoid an unlivable future for millions of people in the impoverished nation, this idea’s international moment has finally arrived:

- Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates must stop the harsh bombardment of the country.

- The United States and the United Kingdom must stop transferring arms and providing logistical/military assistance to the Saudis and the Emiratis. They know they are complicit in Saudi-Emirati war crimes.

- Pentagon says the Saudis and the Emiratis owe the US $331 million for refueling services toward their war on Yemen. Many more such illegal services are doubtless buried. It will require considerable vigilance by the UN to make sure such collaboration is stopped, as no such appetite is available in the Trump administration, which is eager to continue to support the Saudi regime regardless of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

- The ceasefire agreement brokered in Sweden must end the fighting in Hodeidah to save lives and turn the tide of war towards peace.

- Trigger-happy Saudi Arabia and the UAE must agree to allow humanitarian aid through Yemen’s lifeline – in addition to Hodeidah port. The ghastly prospect of famine should be more than enough to convince the Saudi-led aggressors that this is urgent and necessary.

- The UN says 67 percent of Yemen’s population needs urgent action to save lives and livelihoods. Some 20 million Yemenis are vulnerable to death. A quarter of a million of these Yemenis are “on the brink of starvation.”

- The Saudi-led aggression and blockades remains the main driver of mass starvation and food insecurity in Yemen. This has to end as ceasefire in Hodeidah is not enough to prevent the near-death of the Yemeni people elsewhere.

- Yemen does not have much time to see if the ceasefire agreement works so that the warring sides could extend it to other parts of the country. Near-famine is as bad as famine. Annihilation of Yemen remains in the cards and the time has come for a nationwide peace deal.

- Hodeidah is the real litmus test for success of the ceasefire agreement. It came through immense international pressure on trigger happy Saudis and Emiratis. They should not be allowed to foil the agreement in any way.

- The Saudis and the Emiratis bomb Yemen and then help to fund the UN relief there! This has to stop too. That money should be used through the UN system to help fund the new process. It should never be used as hush money to facilitate further military aggression.

- A team of UN peacekeepers will soon arrive in Yemen. They need all the help they can get from the international community. The Saudis and their allies should not be allowed to whitewash UN investigations or blind the mission from its broader goal - to make sure that the deal on Hodeidah holds and paves the way for a bigger peace process.

At any rate, the humanitarian situation will continue to deteriorate in the absence of a broader peace agreement that leads to a durable solution to the conflict. By putting pressure on the Saudis and the Emiratis to agree to the ceasefire deal, the international civil society has called for a Yemen-led, Yemen-owned peace deal. The agreement in Sweden is the start of such a process. Unlike Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the US, the international community has far more reasons to see an end to the brutal war and the humanitarian crisis in Yemen. The ceasefire agreement must hold and Yemen must be prevented from further collapse, starvation and famine.

On which note, the new process should require an immediate end to Saudi-led airstrikes in Hodeidah; unhindered access for humanitarian aid; full cooperation with UN investigators towards a political solution; and full compliance with international laws. The new process should also allow transparent investigation by the UN into possible breaches of those laws by Saudi Arabia and its allies. It must contain proper accountability mechanisms to ensure that compliance with its terms - particularly on humanitarian access and the end of Saudi-led airstrikes - is independently monitored, with clear sanctions ready to be enforced if they are breached.

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