Executive Summary
This research paper was written by Mwatana for Human Rights and students from the Columbia Law School Human Rights Clinic, both contributed research that informed this paper.
Enforced disappearance in Yemen is one of the most complex files, as it is not limited to a specific period nor to a single political authority. Successive ruling authorities in Yemen have forcibly disappeared individuals based on their political beliefs, religious affiliations, or perceived opposition to authorities. Enforced disappearances were committed during the cycles of political conflict that Yemen witnessed from the 1960s and 1970s to the end of the 20th century, and those that accompanied the declaration of the war on terrorism following the events of Sep11, 2001, and what was known as the six Saada wars, and the popular uprising that it witnessed in Yemen in 2011, within what was known as the Arab Spring revolutions, and other conflicts and political events that provided a favorable environment for forced disappearance as a means of taking revenge on opponents and getting rid of opponents and others. Thousands of Yemenis (civilians and military) have been victims of enforced disappearance at the hands of different authorities during different periods of time, and successive authorities have not made any efforts to reveal their fate, or take any measures that would help their families find out what happened to them.
This paper focuses on the enforced disappearances-related violations over the years and successive authorities, including the incidents that occurred during the 1960s and 1970s and beyond of the last century, in addition to the incidents committed during the current conflict that broke out in late 2014. Mwatana is looking for the possibility of establishing a truth commission or other sort of reparation system in Yemen using four case studies: Syria, Sri Lanka, Argentina, and Colombia.
Commissions of Inquiry (COIs), like the former Group of Eminent Experts (GEE), are mechanisms made up of experts who gather and analyze information from multiple sources in order to establish facts, report on violations, and make recommendations to improve the situation while adhering to the UN's specific mandate. COIs typically analyze judicial and other accountability processes, and their recommendations focus on reforming legislation and institutions to promote accountability for previous violations at the national or international level, as well as providing redress to victims.
Given the difficulties associated with the disbandment of the GEE and the impossibility of a UN-mandated Commission of Inquiry in Yemen at this time, the case studies and takeaways we have included primarily focus on strategies to address the issue of enforced disappearances in Yemen through transitional justice negotiations, rather than UN COIs.
To ensure making progress on the enforced disappearances in Yemen, Mwatana for Human Rights will work on the following key next steps:
• Mwatana may propose that the UN Secretary General investigate the cases in Yemen comparable to the one that led to the establishment of the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in Syria, to clarify the fate and whereabouts of all enforced disappeared persons in Yemen and to provide adequate support to victims, survivors and the families of those missing, in close cooperation and complementarity with all relevant actors.
• Mwatana intends to enhance interaction among Yemeni missing families and to aid coalition-building efforts to build capacities and to integrate advocacy methods among relevant organizations.
• Mwatana will collaborate with organizations or institutions that may have information about the status of missing persons in Yemen.
• Mwatana could participate in victim organization development, either through facilitation or by forming these organizations.
The next steps on advocacy strategies:
• Explore the possibility of Community Coalition Building among families and victims’ associations working on disappearances.
• Explore the possibility of coalition building with other NGOs, for example, the possibility of hosting side events in Geneva prior to Human Rights Council Meetings.
• Exploring the regional and UN bodies to engage with Enforced Disappearances.
• Engage in awareness-building techniques for those disappeared, for example, building an interactive map highlighting the stories of disappeared persons and building a documentation database.