Press release

10 Jun 2014

Beirut

Yemen National Dialogue: The Work Begins

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A leading group of Yemeni prominent personalities will meet at the United Nations House in Beirut tomorrow, Wednesday, at 9:00 am to discuss with experts the outcomes of the Yemen National Dialogue, which was launched in 2011, and the means of their implementation. The meeting will close on Thursday 12 June 2014. Organized by ESCWA in cooperation with the International Labour Organization (ILO) and “Common Space Initiative for Shared Knowledge and Consensus Building” under the title “The Yemen National Dialogue: The Work Begins”, the two-day meeting will provide participants with an overview of the national dialogue, in terms of process and outcomes. It will discuss the individual social, political and economic “pillars” as framed by the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC) initiative, which, in November 2011, led to establishing a Government of National Unity, a Military Committee for Establishing Safety and Security, electing a new president, as well as to constitutional and electoral reform and a National Dialogue. Participants in the meeting will share a number of Arab and other national practices on specific issues that were carefully selected, given their relation to the challenges that might pose in implementing the National Dialogue outcomes in Yemen. They will address ways to promote the resolutions attained. More specifically, the meeting is intended to present Yemen’s National Dialogue as a regional case study for resolving multifaceted challenges that culminated in the uprising of 2011; provide a platform for national actors to reflect on the necessary steps for the realization of the national dialogue’s outcomes; exchange Arab and other National practices related to the successes and difficulties faced during the democratization phase; and enhance the support of the international community’s efforts and the role played by civil society actors in consolidating the national consensus thus far achieved. Speakers at the opening session will be United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ESCWA Rima Khalaf, Ambassador of the Yemeni Republic in Lebanon Ali Ahmed AlDailmi, as well as Political Advisor to the President of the Yemeni Republic and former Prime Minister Abdel Karim El-Eryani. The Arab uprisings began in December 2010 and they quickly spread to a number of Arab countries to also encompass Yemen in January 2011. In addition to their moral dimension, the protests were a rejection of corruption and lack of participatory-unaccountable modes of governance. The protests have focused on questions of political equity and social justice including the political, social and economic rights of citizens. The demand for democratic modes of governance clearly goes beyond the conduct of free and fair elections or the mere discussion of the future nature of the political system and civil rights. The issue was to build a state that is capable of meeting the aspirations of the Youth. The issue at hand was also to see democracy in its broader definition, which incorporates governance and accountability, freedom and dignity and the manner in which socio-economic development is conducted. The National Dialogue in Yemen succeeded in reducing the risk of civil confrontation and the transformation of protests into open armed clashes, driving the country and political social forces to take a political path; is by itself is a great achievement. The success of the dialogue to reach its findings in light of the dire difficulties the country is facing is also a significant achievement and merits detailed examination for the benefit of Yemenis and others, and should be listed in the column of Yemen and Arab-National forces supporting this track. Among the Arab States that witnessed a political and institutional change during the period 2011-2013, Yemen is the only country which followed a path that began in convening a National Dialogue, paving for constitutional, electoral and institutional tracks. Thus, it is considered as a unique experience and could have potential benefit for other countries.
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