An extensive virtual seminar was held to launch the analytical paper titled “Engineering Peace in Yemen,” organized by the Transitional Justice Ambassadors Forum as part of the SPARK project implemented by the Abductees’ Mothers Association in partnership with SAM Organization for Rights and Liberties and funded by the DT Institute. The event brought together a distinguished group of academics, researchers, and civil society actors to discuss the roots of the failure of Yemeni reconciliation efforts and the prospects for building sustainable peace based on transitional justice, community partnership, and the redesign of the Yemeni state.
The seminar opened with the assertion that Yemen has endured decades of instability and overlapping local and regional conflicts, turning the country into a testing ground for repeated political settlements and reconciliation attempts, many of which ultimately reproduced violence instead of ending it. Organizers explained that the analytical paper seeks to present a comprehensive vision for “engineering peace” as a process that goes beyond temporary solutions toward redesigning state institutions, the economy, and society on foundations that prevent renewed collapse.
A critical reading of Yemen’s reconciliation history
The paper, whose main themes were presented during the seminar, traced Yemeni reconciliation experiences from the first reconciliation process in modern Yemeni history in 1970 up to the present day. It analyzed the structural political, economic, and security-related causes behind their collapse, in addition to examining the impact of external interventions in weakening the prospects for peace.
The paper identified several key reasons behind the failure of previous reconciliation efforts, including the “patching up” of crises without addressing the root causes of conflict, weak state institutions and rule of law, the absence of an inclusive social contract, the continued existence of armed groups operating parallel to the state, sectarian and identity-based mobilization, and the transformation of national decision-making into a hostage of regional and international power balances.
It also referred to what it described as the “Triangle of Death” threatening any peace process, consisting of political elites benefiting from power-sharing arrangements, a war economy that has accumulated extensive interests tied to the continuation of conflict, and external interventions reshaping political processes to serve their own agendas.
The paper stressed that transitional justice is an essential condition for closing the files of the past and preventing the recurrence of violations. It also emphasized the need for psychological support for Yemeni society, describing it as “a wounded society incapable of protecting peace without healing its deep scars.” Furthermore, it called for the inclusion of women, youth, victims, and local communities as genuine partners in peacebuilding rather than mere aid recipients or spectators in the political process.
Al-Mikhlafi: the structure of the state has been at the core of Yemen’s conflict
For his part, Mohammed Al-Mikhlafi affirmed that the question of the state’s structure has remained one of the central roots of political conflict since Yemeni unification. He noted that Yemen’s constitution contained the foundations for a modern state based on decentralization, but the lack of effective implementation deepened marginalization and concentrated power and wealth in the center.
Al-Mikhlafi explained that the outcomes of the National Dialogue Conference and the draft Yemeni constitution provide a viable foundation for establishing a federal state based on citizenship, democracy, and the rule of law, rather than returning to “abstract theorizing” or starting from scratch. He also stressed that addressing the root causes of conflict and delivering justice to victims are essential prerequisites for any sustainable political transition.
Speaking on transitional justice, Al-Mikhlafi noted that some political forces still perceive it as “revenge justice,” whereas it is fundamentally a mechanism for achieving redress and preventing repeated violations. He clarified that accountability within transitional justice extends beyond criminal punishment to include truth-telling, public acknowledgment of violations, apologies to victims, and the preservation of national memory.
Civil society between marginalization and the search for a guarantor role
In a discussion on the role of civil society, activist Huda Al-Sarari delivered an extensive intervention examining the reasons behind the failure to effectively involve civil society in previous peace processes. She argued that organizations were often invited merely as a “consultative decoration” used to legitimize political processes without being granted genuine powers of oversight or accountability.
She added that many civil society organizations suffer from weak connections with local communities and often rely on language and reporting directed more toward international institutions than Yemeni society itself. She also pointed to the contradictory pressures exerted by political actors and donors, which undermine these organizations’ independence and credibility.
Al-Sarari stressed that building a “community oversight structure” requires sustained engagement within local communities, accumulated knowledge of the social context, and both social and legal legitimacy that give civil society reports real influence and impact. She also called for the establishment of monitoring alliances bringing together organizations from different regions and political backgrounds in order to ensure greater balance and reduce accusations of bias.
Addressing the roles of women, youth, and victims, Al-Sarari emphasized that Yemeni women have acquired mediation skills through their daily experience of war’s consequences, rather than due to any supposedly “innate traits” as is sometimes claimed. She called for redesigning negotiation tables to incorporate these genuine community-based experiences instead of relying on symbolic representation. She further noted that Yemeni youth possess advanced political awareness shaped years of conflict, yet they remain excluded from decision-making centers.
Calls for building national knowledge platforms
Researcher Ateq Jarallah focused on the importance of knowledge production and research centers in supporting peace processes, arguing that Yemen still lacks the “modeling” and institutional frameworks capable of serving as references for decision-makers.
He pointed to a deep gap between knowledge and policymaking, explaining that research centers and civil society organizations should evolve from purely consultative bodies into “knowledge reservoirs” capable of producing conflict maps, indicators of social and economic fragility, and practical, applicable policy visions.
Jarallah also called for the development of university curricula and the integration of concepts such as coexistence, peace, citizenship, and transitional justice into educational processes, arguing that Yemeni universities remain disconnected from directly addressing societal and conflict-related issues.
Consensus that peace begins with justice and partnership
The seminar concluded with a shared affirmation that peace in Yemen cannot be achieved through recycling traditional settlements or relying solely on political power-sharing arrangements. Instead, participants stressed the need for a national project that rebuilds the relationship between the state and society on the foundations of justice, partnership, and the rule of law.
Participants further emphasized that transitional justice is not a tool for revenge, but rather a mechanism to prevent the recurrence of war and restore social trust. They concluded that the success of any peace process depends on its ability to deliver justice to victims and address the root causes of conflict rather than merely managing the crisis temporarily.