Topic: 2024-Situation in Yemen
Country: Cuba
Delegate Name: Layne Cleveland
The Republic of Cuba
Bay City Central High School
4th Committee: Special Political and Decolonization Committee (SPECPOL)
The state of Yemen has been tumultuous for many years now, with the start of the conflict arising in the year of 2014, when the Houthi insurgents began their war with the state of Yemen. The Houthi insurgency has created an opportunity for many other factions from within Yemen to try and seize power, bringing many more people into the conflict. The main division, however, is between the Iran-backed Houthis and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government. This division has drawn support from the Americans to the Saudi-backed government, and support from the Russians to the Iran-backed Houthi insurgents. The main issue in the conflict is the religious division between the two parties, the Houthi, which follow a sect of Shia Islam, are in a religious battle with the Sunni Saudi-backed Yemeni government.
This conflict has led to a humanitarian crisis within Yemen, with millions of citizens being displaced, and many millions more requiring aid. Steps have been taken towards ensuring a ceasefire in Yemen between the years of 2022 and 2023, but the conflict looks nowhere near its conclusion. As with the length of the conflict, a continuation of the war is unnecessary and futile unless a ceasefire is reached or a resolution between the warring parties is reached. There has been a distinct lack of humanitarian support from major global powers, specifically from Russia and the United States. Despite the United States’ billions of dollars funding humanitarian efforts in Yemen, strikes on the peninsula continue to occur, as well as the funding of the war. Russia has also been reluctant to share funds for humanitarian efforts in Yemen, mostly due to being preoccupied with their own conflict in the Ukraine, though they still have the funds to give the Houthi insurgents’ drones.
Cuba believes it is vital, in the interest not only of the nation but of the international community and the welfare of the people in Yemen, who have suffered greatly from the conflict, to enforce a ceasefire immediately between the warring factions. Cuba also believes there must be a greater focus on putting pressure on the major powers who support and fund this war, as it is partly on them that the conflict has lasted as long as it has, and affected as many civilians as it did. The devastation the conflict causes to the people is intensified greatly by the backing of the major powers that gather behind the parties involved, and it is imperative that these powers are held accountable for the devastation they indirectly cause by funding the conflict. Cuba believes an end to the conflict will enable further humanitarian efforts to restore the civilian populace to normalcy, and an end to the costly strikes on foreign trade in the Red Sea. The United Nations has backed the Yemeni government throughout the conflict, negotiating deals between the Yemeni government and the insurgents during the entire conflict, starting in 2011 when the popular uprisings began. This shows that the United Nations can indeed help the warring parties in their conflict, and hopefully broker a deal for peace or a resolution. A possible short-term solution is to negotiate further ceasefires as well as designating zones for humanitarian efforts as well as requesting further funding from major nations.
