Friends of Yemen event in Birmingham

I attended the ‘Together for peace in Yemen’ workshop on Saturday 23 March. At the event, there were discussions on how peace can be achieved in Yemen.

The civil war in Yemen began in 2015 and is entering its fifth year. According to Oxfam, a supporter of this event, the conflict has left 10 million people facing famine. Nearly half of all children aged between six months and five years are chronically malnourished.

The agenda for the workshop included the sharing of civil societies stories inside and outside Yemen, discussing the role of UK MPs (Stephen Twigg MP and Richard Burden MP also attended the event), and the role of Yemeni diaspora in supporting humanitarian NGOs, women, youth and children and mental health provision in Yemen.

The UK government must act to halt the sale of arms to those on either side of the conflict, and work to ensure humanitarian aid is able to reach those in need and push for the immediate end of hostilities between all parties involved.

On Tuesday 26 March, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, Rt Hon Emily Thornberry MP, asked an Urgent Question on whether the United Kingdom is a party to the conflict in Yemen. The Shadow Foreign Secretary asked about reports of British special forces engaging in gun battles with the Houthi rebels in Yemen whilst providing support to injured coalition forces.

The Yemeni diaspora are coming together to ensure there is peace in Yemen.