Country/entity
Yemen
Region
Middle East and North Africa
Agreement name
Doha Agreement
Date
01/02/2008
Agreement status
Multiparty signed/agreed
Interim arrangement
No
Agreement/conflict level
Intrastate/intrastate conflict (Yemeni Civil Wars (1994) (2011 - )
The Republic of Yemen was formed in May 1990 after the merger between the Yemeni Arab Republic (YAR) in the north and the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY) in the south. The unification process was rushed and the final agreement between President Ali Abdullah Saleh and President Ali Salem al-Beidh was based on the imperfect promise of equality. Following the merger, integration of the militaries and civil services was at best incomplete or at times entirely non-existent. When Saleh’s General Congress Party (GPC) allied itself with the newly created Islamist Islah (‘reform’) party in 1993, the former ruling party of South Yemen – the Yemen Socialist Party (YSP) – was effectively side-lined in the 1993 General Elections. Violence involving the use of heavy weaponry and aerial bombardment erupted in April 1994 and on the 21 May 1994 Vice President al-Beidh declared the secession of the south, citing political centralization with the northern highland tribes, violence against the YSP and economic discrimination. In the midst of fighting, negotiations in Cairo, Egypt, collapsed. The war ended with the military victory of the north, and on the 1 October 1994, Ali Abdullah Saleh was elected President.

Despite the unification of Yemen in 1990, political power during the 1990s and 2000s remained centralized with the northern highland tribes, particularly the villages from which President Ali Abdullah Saleh and his confidants stemmed. The system of clientelism established through the ruling General People’s Congress party maintained relative loyalty among the fractured political allegiances of Yemen’s traditional tribal leadership. However, diminishing oil reserves and the shrinking opportunities for access to rent increased economic and political marginalization in Yemen’s peripheral communities. The degree of regionalism of conflicts is further defined by other local grievances. In the northern governorate of Sa’dah, a backlash was provoked among the local Zaydi Shi’a against Sunni Salafist cultural incursions resulting in six wars between 2004 and 2010. In the southern governorates of Hadramawt, Shabwa, al-Dhali and Abyan, civil and military personnel forcibly retired after the 1994 Civil War began protesting and eventually formed the secessionist Southern ‘al-Hiraak’ movement in 2007. Furthermore, tribal grievances have spurred attacks on oil companies and government installations to extract rents. Various takfiri groups including al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula have also increased their presence since 1995.

The Yemen Spring in early 2011 allowed all these movements to express their joint displeasure. Moreover, factionalism in the regime split the already weak military and thus allowed the Houthis, the takfiris and tribal-based militia known as popular committees, to assert themselves militarily. Mandated by the UN-sponsored Gulf Cooperation Council Initiative, the National Dialogue held from March 2013 to January 2014 aimed at guaranteeing power-sharing among the different parties. However, the GCC Initiative only included formal political parties that did not accurately reflect political realities. Furthermore, provisions lacked adequate transitional justice and provided former-President Saleh, as well as others, full amnesty. As a result, little faith was placed in the process by formerly marginalized groups such as the Zaydi Shia Houthi rebels (Ansar Allah) and al-Hiraak who opted to increase their bargaining power vis-à-vis the state by strengthening their own territorial enclaves. In September 2014 the Houthis succeeded in capturing the capital Sana’a and gradually expanded their control southward. The subsequent UN-mediated Peace and National Partnership Agreement between transitional president Hadi and the Houthis on a federal, democratic Yemeni state, failed to be implemented as the Houthis successfully dissolved the parliament and deposed Hadi in January 2015. Following the Saudi military intervention to restore the Hadi government in March 2015, ceasefire attempts continuously failed. A two-year deadlock ensued until negotiations between the Houthis and the government of Yemen finally culminated in the Stockholm Agreement in December 2018. However, throughout 2019 the Saudi-led coalition continues to launch airstrikes. Furthermore, in May 2017 the Southern al-Hiraak movement had declared the secessionist formation of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), seizing the interim-capital Aden by January 2018. Territorial divisions between the Yemeni government, the Houthis, forces affiliated with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, local militias and tribes have continued to fracture the country.
Yemeni Civil Wars (1994) (2011 - ) )
Stage
Ceasefire/related (Ceasefire)
Conflict nature
Government
Peace process
123: Yemen peace process
Parties
Unsigned copy of agreement, supplementary text states that representatives of the Government of Yemen and Huthi representatives signed the agreement.
Third parties
Unsigned, supplementary text states 'Text of agreement produced by Qatari mediation'
Description
This short ceasefire agreement provides for the terms of ceasefire, which does not specify the commencement or duration of the ceasefire. Conditions include a general amnesty, demobilization, reconstruction, and respect for freedom of opinion, amongst other specifics.

Agreement document
YE_080201_DohaAgreement.pdf []

Groups

Children/youth
No specific mention.
Disabled persons
Substantive
Page 1, Article 2
...search for [discovery of] the missing people and care for injured/wounded people; and release of corpses by whomever possesses them.
Elderly/age
No specific mention.
Migrant workers
No specific mention.
Racial/ethnic/national group
No specific mention.
Religious groups
No specific mention.
Indigenous people
No specific mention.
Other groups
No specific mention.
Refugees/displaced persons
Rhetorical
Page 1, 3.
Life [should] return to normal in the regions [of conflict], and everyone [should] return to his area, and live as safe citizens, as all the other citizens in the regions of the republic.
Social class
No specific mention.

Gender

Women, girls and gender
No specific mention.
Men and boys
No specific mention.
LGBTI
No specific mention.
Family
No specific mention.

State definition

State definition
No specific mention.

Governance

Political institutions (new or reformed)
No specific mention.
Constitution's affirmation/renewal
Page 1, 6.
Respect for freedom of opinion, to include the right to establish a political party in accordance with the constitution and the laws in force in the country.
Constitutional reform/making
No specific mention.
Elections
No specific mention.
Electoral commission
No specific mention.
Political parties reform
No specific mention.
Civil society
No specific mention.
Traditional/religious leaders
No specific mention.
Public administration
No specific mention.

Power sharing

Political power sharing
No specific mention.
Territorial power sharing
No specific mention.
Economic power sharing
No specific mention.
Military power sharing
No specific mention.

Human rights and equality

Human rights/RoL
No specific mention.
Equality
No specific mention.
Democracy
No specific mention.
Protection measures
No specific mention.
Human rights framework
Isolated rights
Page 1, 6.
Respect for freedom of opinion, to include the right to establish a political party in accordance with the constitution and the laws in force in the country.
Civil and political rights
Vote and take part
Page 1, 6.
Respect for freedom of opinion, to include the right to establish a political party in accordance with the constitution and the laws in force in the country.
Thought, opinion, conscience and religion
Page 1, 6.
Respect for freedom of opinion, to include the right to establish a political party in accordance with the constitution and the laws in force in the country.
Socio-economic rights
No specific mention.
NHRI
No specific mention.
Regional or international human rights institutions
No specific mention.
Mobility/access
Page 1, 7.
The arrival of ‘Abd al-Malik al-Huthi, Yahya al-Huthi, ‘Abd al-Karim al-Huthi, and ‘Abdallah ‘Izza al-Razzami to Qatar, without undertaking any political or media activity hostile to Yemen and without leaving Qatar except after the agreement of the Yemeni government.
Detention procedures
No specific mention.
Media and communication
Media roles
Page 1, 7.
The arrival of ‘Abd al-Malik al-Huthi, Yahya al-Huthi, ‘Abd al-Karim al-Huthi, and ‘Abdallah ‘Izza al-Razzami to Qatar, without undertaking any political or media activity hostile to Yemen and without leaving Qatar except after the agreement of the Yemeni government.

Page 1, 8.
Cessation of all matter of media campaigns and acts of provocative incitement.
Citizenship
Citizen, general
Page 1, 3.
Life [should] return to normal in the regions [of conflict], and everyone [should] return to his area, and live as safe citizens, as all the other citizens in the regions of the republic.

Justice sector reform

Criminal justice and emergency law
No specific mention.
State of emergency provisions
No specific mention.
Judiciary and courts
No specific mention.
Prisons and detention
No specific mention.
Traditional Laws
No specific mention.

Socio-economic reconstruction

Development or socio-economic reconstruction
Infrastructure and reconstruction
Page 1, 9.
The Yemeni government will undertake the reconstruction of what the war has destroyed and the treatment of its effects;
National economic plan
No specific mention.
Natural resources
No specific mention.
International funds
Page 1, 9.
...the praiseworthy state of Qatar will undertake to contribute to a fund for the rebuilding of the affected areas and for the compensation of those affected [by the fighting], and this fund will be open to the contributions of Arab and friendly states.
Business
No specific mention.
Taxation
No specific mention.
Banks
No specific mention.

Land, property and environment

Land reform/rights
No specific mention.
Pastoralist/nomadism rights
No specific mention.
Cultural heritage
No specific mention.
Environment
No specific mention.
Water or riparian rights or access
No specific mention.

Security sector

Security Guarantees
No specific mention.
Ceasefire
Ceasefire provision
[Summary: the agreement in its entirety provides for the conditions of a ceasefire, the duration of which was not specified.]

Page 1, 1.
Cessation of military operations; and adherence, of the Huthi and those with him, to the republican order [system], the constitution and the laws in force in the country.
Police
No specific mention.
Armed forces
No specific mention.
DDR
Demilitarisation provisions
Page 1, 5.
The relinquishment of medium weapons, along with their ammunition, to the state.
Intelligence services
No specific mention.
Parastatal/rebel and opposition group forces
Page 1, 1.
Cessation of military operations; and adherence, of the Huthi and those with him, to the republican order [system], the constitution and the laws in force in the country.

Page 1, 2.
Ending of the rebellion;

Withdrawal of foreign forces
No specific mention.
Corruption
No specific mention.
Crime/organised crime
No specific mention.
Drugs
No specific mention.
Terrorism
No specific mention.

Transitional justice

Transitional justice general
No specific mention.
Amnesty/pardon
Amnesty/pardon proper
Page 1, 2.
...implementation of the general amnesty decision;
Courts
No specific mention.
Mechanism
No specific mention.
Prisoner release
Page 1, 2.
...the release of prisoners, except for those charged in cases turned over to the general prosecutor or under consideration by the courts;
Vetting
No specific mention.
Victims
Page 1, 2.
...search for [discovery of] the missing people and care for injured/wounded people; and release of corpses by whomever possesses them.
Missing persons
Page 1, 2.
...search for [discovery of] the missing people and care for injured/wounded people; and release of corpses by whomever possesses them.
Reparations
Material reparations
Page 1, 9.
...the praiseworthy state of Qatar will undertake to contribute to a fund for the rebuilding of the affected areas and for the compensation of those affected [by the fighting], and this fund will be open to the contributions of Arab and friendly states.
Reconciliation
No specific mention.

Implementation

UN signatory
No specific mention.
Other international signatory
No specific mention.
Referendum for agreement
No specific mention.
International mission/force/similar
No specific mention.
Enforcement mechanism
No specific mention.

The University of Edinburgh