Dr Alexandra Lewis, Research Fellow at the Post-war Reconstruction and Development Unit argues that the effectiveness of humanitarian assistance in Yemen has been undermined by a lack of cooperation and communication between regional and international donors. This leads to a duplication of efforts in some instances, and stalled or inadequate aid distribution in others.
"International humanitarian assistance in Yemen has been seriously constrained by safety, under-funding, and lack of cooperation between multilateral and bilateral aid delivery agencies. Of equal importance, particularly under former-President Saleh’s leadership, has been the role of information distribution and manipulation.
To address these issues, there is a need for greater cooperation between regional and international donors. International Organisations also need to use less confrontational language in humanitarian aid delivery, so as to promote project cohesion with the Government of Yemen and other important regional actors.
Information Manipulation
It has been
difficult for the international community to access priority areas of Yemen.
For instance, before 2011, Sa’ada proved only to be accessible through the
sub-contracting of local staff. UN and affiliated agencies interviewed in 2010
noted that they had been unable to gain permission from the Yemeni state to
travel to the governorate and deliver aid, due to security concerns.
Reports on
safety levels, however, were treated with scepticism by local practitioners:
information restriction in Yemen has a history of undermining the effectiveness
of foreign interventions, with former-President Saleh having heavily restricted
the presence of international press officers and journalists in his country (Finn & Webb, 2011).
Ironically,
the Arab Spring has resulted in dramatic improvements to this situation,
stabilising Northern governorates by allowing them to operate independently. This presents an opportunity for the
international community to engage with Sa’ada, either by collaborating with
local CSOs and NGOs, or by direct intervention. Such assistance, however, needs
to emerge from independent security assessments.
The Language and Restrictions of
Humanitarianism
Lack of state
cooperation with international humanitarian aid delivery by the Yemeni
Government has stemmed from political justifications and from the language of
humanitarian action, which is built upon a framework of legal obligations to
protect and uphold human rights. Supporting international instruments has
previously delegitimised the state in the eyes of Northern, and (in some cases)
Southern, communities, by aligning the Government with Western liberal values.
The international community needs to be careful about restrictions on aid
allocation that can damage perceptions of Yemeni national independence. There
is scope for welfare, education and healthcare based interventions to be used
to promote equality, without necessarily being based on confrontational
narratives that might be seen as un-Islamic or un-Yemeni.
Lack of Cooperation
Regional
donors have had more success in reaching problematic areas, due to their less
restrictive programming guidelines. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates
(UAE), and Kuwait “lead the way among Arab nations in terms of providing
development assistance” and humanitarian aid across the Middle East (Riddell, 2013).
However, the
effectiveness of assistance has been undermined by a lack of cooperation and
communication between regional and international donors, leading to a
duplication of efforts in some instances, and stalled or inadequate aid
distribution in others.
Due to a lack of effective monitoring capacity in
conflict-affected governorates, international stakeholders voiced concerns at
the inefficiency and duplication of those projects that they were able to
deliver. These issues are linked to competing narratives of humanitarian and
development assistance, with regional donors tending to view foreign assistance
packages as overly prescriptive and international donors viewing regional aid
as insufficiently accountable (West Asia North
Africa Forum, 2009).
In particular, it is recommended that North
American and European Governments need to see regional donors as welcome
partners in development, taking assistance at face value and offering guidance
or coordination services where necessary, rather than striving to lead or
manage all humanitarian interventions in Yemen".
These opinions are drawn from a
book chapter, out later this
year in Antonio DeLauri’s (Ed) anthology: Humanitarianism,
Inc (I.B. Tauris).
References
Global Humanitarian Assistance. (2013).
Riddell, P. (2013). Islam as Aid and Development. In M. Clarke, Handbook of Research on Development and Religion (pp. 17-30).
West Asia
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