A Yemeni refugee girl fills a container with water in a makeshift kitchen in the grounds of a public school in the port city of Aden on June 16, 2012 (Mohammed Huwais/AFP/Getty Images)[/caption]Yemen’s difficult transition from dictatorship is at a critical stage. Three years of armed conflict and political turmoil have brought the Gulf’s poorest country to the edge of an abyss.
The unprecedented regional and international support for the transition process and the National Dialogue offers some hope that perhaps Yemenis can pull themselves away from the edge and build a modern, stable state. However, Yemen faces other challenges in addition to the political, economic and security crises, challenges which further complicate the situation.
These challenges include the influx of migrants and refugees from both African and Arab states. From Africa; Somalians, Ethiopians and others fleeing violence in their own countries have sought shelter in Yemen, as have some Iraqis and Syrians. A further challenge is the existence of internally displaced persons (IDPs) as a result of armed conflict inside Yemen, particularly in the northern province of Sa'ada and the southern province of Abyan.
According to estimates by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), by the end of this year the number of refugees in Yemen will reach over 270,000, most of whom will be Somalis, while the number of Yemenis officially considered IDPs will be around 350,000.
Yemen is the only country in the Arabian Peninsula to have signed the Geneva Refugee Convention of 1951, and the accompanying Protocol of 1967, and the UNHCR has been active in the country since the 1980s.
In an exclusive interview with The Majalla and Yemen Now, Bruno Geddo, the representative of UNHCR in Yemen, said officials from 14 countries in the Horn of Africa and the Gulf will gather in Sana'a in November to discuss the situation of migrants and the funding of more assistance programs, in cooperation and coordination with the International Organization for Migration, IOM.
In addition to refugee issues, Geddo says that the conference will discuss the legal immigration of foreign workers, and how to prevent the abuse of undocumented migrants. Geddo said “the problem of undocumented migration is an international phenomenon and it cannot be stopped, but can be managed and recognized.”
“Human dignity is the most precious thing of all and must be respected and protected,” said Geddo.
As for refugees, Geddo said, “The refugees are brave, capable and skillful. If they were not like this, they would have died, or sat like those who surrendered to the painful reality…These refugees could be a human resource for the country they come to, as they have a lot of skills and capabilities.”
Geddo said that UNHCR is cooperating with the Yemeni government to pass a law for refugees, to implement the Geneva Convention and its protocol in a better way.
In Yemen, officials speak of more than one million African refugees in the country, while the UNHCR states that the number of registered refugees totals 250,000. To explain this gap between the two figures, the UNHCR says that it counts only those officially registered, while the Yemeni government says it includes all official and unofficial refugees and migrants within its territory. Furthermore, there are many Yemenis of Somali and Ethiopian origin, due to their countries' proximity to Yemen, and the shared history of the three countries.
As for Yemen’s IDPs, Geddo says that the UNHCR supports the Yemeni government’s efforts to help them return to their homes. He said that most of the IDPs in the south of the country—in Abyan province—have returned to their homes. To assist the process, he says that 270 temporary shelters have been delivered to returnees in Abyan, while 3,000 more will be delivered soon.
In contrast, most of the IDPs in the north of the country, in Hajjah, Sa'ada, and Amran—are still in camps. Approximately 11,000 IDPs are still living in the camps of Mazrak in Hajjah province, while 69,000 are scattered in whatever accommodation they can find—either independently or with relatives.
As well as the UNHCR, there are other international and local organizations helping the government to solve the problem of IDPs and providing services to them until the IDPs return. Yet, the problem they are trying to solve is huge. As well as the efforts of aid organizations, there is a group in Yemen’s National Dialogue conference invested in the interests of IDPs and refugees. This group is looking for a permanent solution to the IDP issue with the help of the UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations.
Wrapping up the interview, Geddo said: “We have to find a lasting solution for IDPs. They cannot stay in the camps forever.”
All views expressed in this blog post are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, The Majalla magazine.
