Joint Statement by Yemeni Civil Society Organizations to the 77th United Nations General Assembly

As Yemen enters its eighth year of conflict, the country remains one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. More than two thirds of the population – over 23 million people – need humanitarian assistance. Millions of Yemenis' lives have been shattered as they face a collapsing economy marked by rounds of currency depreciation and lost livelihoods, a fuel crisis, and destroyed vital infrastructure, dramatic hikes in the prices of essential commodities like food, fuel, and medicine, along with non-existent or irregular payment of public wages. This is pushing more and more people into extreme levels of hunger. The severe funding shortfall for the humanitarian response has further burdened the Yemeni people – right now, Yemen is the least funded response globally. 

In Yemen, up to 19 million people are food insecure. Hunger is forcing people to sell their few remaining assets or take on debt in exchange for food, and, fears of a famine are very real as the humanitarian response remains severely underfunded. The situation is most severe for the over four million Yemenis – the majority of whom are women and children - who have been displaced multiple times over the past seven years and forced to bear harsh conditions, lacking privacy and safety and are often far from essential services. 

Humanitarian aid is saving lives but more than anything Yemenis need peace, and the recent truce has brought hope as it has significantly contributed to a reduction in casualties and enabled better access to life-saving humanitarian aid. But more must be done to save lives now and pave the way for a more peaceful future. Yemenis must be able to access services, travel easily within and out of the country, access income opportunities and restore their lives. Despite the relative calm this temporary truce provides, poor law and order, along with conflict-driven inequality and injustice continue to claim Yemeni lives – many undocumented and unreported, all under the clear sight of the international community. 

As member states convene for the 77th United Nations General Assembly, we the undersigned civil society organizations urge the international community to address the situation in Yemen and take concrete steps to ensure the following:

• All parties to the conflict make meaningful commitment to consider extending the truce for a longer-term agreement and implementing all its terms and to include women in the ongoing peace negotiations. The support of the international community is key to ensure this truce paves the way for meaningful engagement in negotiations to put an end to the war and achieve a lasting, inclusive peace.
• In the short term, all parties to the conflict adhere to international humanitarian and human rights laws and ensure the protection of civilians, civilian properties, and infrastructure. To this end, the international community must ensure effective accountability mechanisms are in place and applied to hold all parties to the conflict accountable.
• Yemenis and humanitarian personnel have free and safe movement by opening the roads and normalizing and facilitating travel across the country, including in Taiz where all roads must be opened immediately as per the elements of the truce.
• Civil society and women right organizations must be involved in monitoring the implementation of the truce terms.
• Commitments are fulfilled to all public sector employees across with the country with regular and timely payment of salaries.
• Provide proper support to the private sector as it has a huge role  in securing jobs and improving the economy  where it continues to import vital supplies of food and fuel. Lack of foreign currency has contributed to the collapse of the Yemeni rial and increased corruption, conflicting regulation polices, and physical damage of institutions have all devastated the infrastructure of the private sector.  

We urge the donor community to:

• Facilitate Yemeni local organizations’ access to direct and flexible funding, by coordinating and reconciling compliance, lessening and harmonizing due diligence requirements, and providing quick access to humanitarian funding by simplifying procedures.

• Ensure representation and participation of national and local NGOs in the leadership of the humanitarian response in Yemen.

• Prioritize funding for women-led and women rights organizations and facilitate their access to long-term and flexible funding and ensuring they operate through removing all constraints hindering Yemeni female humanitarian workers access to conduct field work thereby directly impacting access to particularly women and girls needs. 

Signatories:

1. Tamdeen Youth Foundation
2. Sustainable Development Foundation
3. Fekr Organization for Dialogue and Human Rights Defense
4. Together We Rise Foundation for Women and Child Care
5. Peace and Building Foundation
6. Qudrah Organization for Sustainable Development
7. Light Foundation For Development
8. Field Medical Foundation
9. Sada Foundation for Building & Development
10. Democracy School
11. National Organization for Development and Healthy Care
12. Rescue Foundation for Development
13. Basma Foundation for Child Development and Woman
14. Peace for Sustainable Societies Foundation
15. Siaq Organization for Youth and Development
16. Yemen Center for Human Rights Studies
17. Yemeni Observatory for Human Rights
18. Alamal Women’s and Sociocultural Foundation
19. Bassma Foundation for Development and Rights
20. Watch for Human Rights
21. Nabd Development and Evolution Organization
22. Change Horizon Forum
23. Sewing and Development Services Association
24. Wama Foundation for Development and Human Rights
25. Ramz Development Foundation
26. Al Mustaqbal Association
27. Abductees Mothers Association
28. Yemen Peace School Organization
29. Al-Aman Organization for Blind Women Care
30. National Prisoner Foundation
31. Hajjah Cultural Developmental Foundation
32. Angela for Development and Humanitarian Response
33. Abs Development for woman and child (ADO)
34. Social peace Promotion & Law Protection Foundation 
35. Wojood Foundation for Human Security  
36. Wedyan Foundation for Development 
37. Yemen Development Network 
38. Abna Saada Association for Development social and charity 
39. Enjaz Foundation for Development 
40. Al Tathamon Foundation for Development 
41. Yemen Family Care association. 
42. All Girls Foundation 
43. Afaq Shbabia Foundation