Political Facilitation
Special Adviser Jamal Benomar has been facilitating Yemen’s political transition since April 2011, within a mandate of independence, impartiality, transparency, objectivity and integrity, in order to achieve peace, security and development. He facilitated both face-to-face negotiations between the ruling party and the opposition, and extensive consultations with various Yemeni political leaders when the country was on the brink of civil war. He travelled in areas controlled by different armed groups, and visited the squares where rallies against President Ali Abdullah Saleh took place in order to listen to the youth to understand their demands.
Negotiations facilitated by Special Adviser Benomar led to the signing of a Transition Agreement in Riyadh in November 2011. He supported preparations for the National Dialogue Conference through facilitating talks between various factions. During the Dialogue, he worked closely with all constituencies, including women, youth, Southern Hirak movement and Houthis who participated for the first time in the decision making process. Furthermore, the Special Adviser helped the Dialogue overcome several deadlocks, including the withdrawal of representatives of the Southern Hirak movement and the boycott by Houthis and the General People’s Congress (GPC) party led by former President Ali Abdullah Saleh. He introduced to the international community, for the first time, the Southern question and provided a clear image of the violations against southerners. His efforts required travel to Sana’a, Aden, Saada and Hodeidah, as well as high level meetings in Gulf countries among others.
Since the conclusion of the National Dialogue Conference and the adoption of an Outcome Document on 25 January 2014, the Office of the Special Adviser has been facilitating the remaining tasks of the political process. These include the constitution making process, preparations for a referendum in addition to general elections, and preparations for the transition of Yemen to a federal state, as stipulated in the Outcome Document.
The Office of the Special Adviser supported countless rounds of negotiations in and outside Yemen. Some of which led to the participation of Southern Hirak leaders in the National Dialogue Conference. Other talks resulted in ceasefire agreements in Saada and Amran, and in allowing humanitarian access to people in conflict zones.
National Dialogue
The Office of the Special Adviser provided diplomatic, political, technical, logistical and financial support for the national dialogue process. Through a team of experts in transition processes, national dialogues, constitution making, law and governance, among other issues, the Office helped empower Yemenis to lead their transition, to plan for it in a deliberate, considered and informed manner, and to learn from the experiences of other countries.
The Office of the Special Adviser worked closely with various Yemeni political parties and leaders to arrange for the Comprehensive National Dialogue Conference. A Technical Preparatory Committee started its meetings in June 2012, involving all political factions and constituencies. It concluded its work in December 2012 with an agreement on the structure, organization, rules of procedure, and management of the National Dialogue Conference. This included creating a Secretariat and a Presidium to oversee nine Working Groups which addressed the Southern question, Saada, national issues and reconciliation and transitional justice, state building, good governance, foundations for building military and security, independent entities, rights and freedoms, and sustainable development.
The Office of the Special Adviser helped to underpin the creation of the Secretariat of the National Dialogue in a record time, through the provision of expertise, funds and logistical support. Under the leadership of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, the 565 delegates representing all Yemeni constituencies, including groups of Southern Hirak, Houthis, women, youth and civil society, commenced the National Dialogue Conference on 18 March 2014.
The Special Adviser and his team facilitated dozens of Dialogue sessions, and at the request of the interlocutors, presented dozens of papers reflecting on the experiences of other countries in various matters. The Southern question required significant attention, especially as the Working Group on this issue reached deadlock. A sub-committee was formed, and the Special Adviser facilitated its meetings for three months, leading on 23 December 2013 to the signing of the “Agreement on a Just Solution to the Southern Question,” on the basis of federalism. The National Dialogue then concluded on 25 January 2014 with the adoption of an Outcome Document that stipulated a roadmap towards the full transition of Yemen into a state that upholds democracy, freedom, rule of law, human rights and good governance. A special committee agreed later that the new federal state shall comprise of six regions.
Women, Youth and Civil Society Empowerment
During the Transition Agreement negotiations in 2011, the Special Adviser played a key role to ensure the participation of women, youth and civil society for the first time in the political process in Yemen. Consequently, these constituencies participated in the decision-making process starting from the preparatory phase for the National Dialogue Conference. Furthermore, 30 per cent of the Dialogue delegates were women, 20 per cent youth, and likewise for civil society. Women headed three Working Groups on key issues: Saada, rights and freedoms, and good governance. They were represented in the Presidium and the Consensus Committee, and later in the Constitution Drafting Commission, and the National Body to oversee the implementation of the National Dialogue outcomes. Similarly, representatives of youth and civil society participated in the Preparatory Committee, the National Dialogue and its Working Groups, the Secretariat, and the National Body.
Women, youth and civil society in Yemen have been among the most dynamic constituencies, actively pushing the process of change forward. The Special Adviser held countless meetings with their representatives in and outside the National Dialogue, in Sana’a, Aden, Saada and Houdeidah. He also met with those in the squares, facilitated other public discussions and televised town hall meetings, as well as helping to empower them further through a team of international and local experts.
On 3 July 2013, the Special Adviser established the “Women and Youth Forum” to provide a space for open discussions, and an exchange of views, facilitating collaboration towards achieving the objectives of these constituencies. The Forum enabled women, youth and civil society to join efforts and produce common visions that will segue into the National Dialogue outcomes. Following the conclusion of the Dialogue, they produced constitutional guidelines in three documents for the Constitution Drafting Commission to incorporate their rights and their recently achieved gains in the new constitution.
The Office of the Special Adviser continues to provide support for these constituencies through the “Women and Youth Forum,” among other initiatives.
Public Outreach
The Office of the Special Adviser has been encouraging communications and outreach initiatives on Yemen’s transition since 2012, including through the provision of expertise, funding and logistical support. The Office provided support for the Preparatory Committee to develop a communications and public outreach strategy for the National Dialogue, and later for the Secretariat to establish a Media Centre and Community Outreach Unit. The objective was ensuring the transparency of the Dialogue and political processes, engaging the public-at-large across Yemen, allowing public participation in the decision making process through a special mechanism, and providing feedback to the National Dialogue. Key to all of this were traditional and new communications tools, awareness campaigns, field visits and face-to-face meetings.