Yemeni Youth Break New Ground in Resolving Tribal Conflict

In Yemen, tribal conflict is a backdrop affecting the country's economic development, governance and national stability. Disputes over land claims and competition for resources and government services often lead to violence and cycles of revenge killings that can extend over a decade, hindering the work of government and international development agencies, and isolating citizens from the state.

Within tribes, young people are particularly affected by, and increasingly engage in, violence. Research by NDI shows that young people are the most likely to initiate conflict or break established truces. With almost half of Yemen's population under age 15 and another one-third aged 15 to 29, a significant percentage of the population is growing acclimated to violence as the primary means to address or resolve conflict.

Youth Council Delivers Results

Despite its short history, the Al Juba Cross-Tribal Youth Council has already developed solutions to some long-standing conflicts in Mareb.

At first, addressing real conflicts seemed a potentially insurmountable challenge as youth council members were reluctant to broach issues dividing their tribes. Among the council members are two young men — one the son of a prominent sheikh and the other the son of a leading member of a rival tribe — who have been embroiled in an ongoing dispute between their respective tribes. The two were reluctant participants in a broader discussion about tribal conflict and refused to speak directly to each other out of loyalty to their tribes and in keeping with the rules of the ongoing conflicts between them.

Throughout the three-day session, the 40 youth councilors were encouraged to talk about real conflicts they face, and discussions eventually led to the specific conflict that was keeping the two young tribesmen from speaking to one another — a proposal by the Yemeni government to build a school for girls in the district. The young men's tribes were fighting over where the school would be built.

Using skills learned during the workshop and through a role-play on peer mediation with a third member of the council, the two men were able to broker an agreement to resolve the dispute. They proposed establishment of a Ministry of Education committee to study the best location for the school, looking at, among other factors, the number of girls that would benefit by having the school in close proximity to their villages. The two youth council members presented the proposal to the sheikhs of their tribes, who accepted the terms and plan to engage the Ministry of Education.

Drawing inspiration from his peers' success, another council member decided to tackle a decades-old land dispute between rival tribes that want to use the same piece of property to grow crops. This council member, who is also a member of the tribe that controls rain irrigation to the disputed property, approached his fellow council members who are affiliated with the rival tribes and offered to serve as a mediator. After discussing the issue with both sides, he presented three potential resolutions. The council members involved in the negotiation chose an approach in which the rival tribes would share the land, an unconventional solution in Yemen, where tribal boundaries are significant and competition over resources is fierce. They presented their proposal to their tribal sheikhs who agreed.

To help deal with this problem, 40 young men and women, all under the age of 30, came together in July to form the country's first cross-tribal youth council. Located in Al Juba district in the conflict plagued Mareb governorate, the council is part of an 18-month program led by NDI to engage youth in the governorates of Mareb and Shabwa to resolve conflict and build relationships between young people and community leaders to address issues that contribute to violence. The council will advocate for youth to municipal and tribal leaders, learn and teach conflict prevention and problem solving skills to students, and serve as mediators among youth in their communities.

Creation of the council required overcoming significant obstacles and followed a lengthy negotiation process with tribal and government officials. In Al Juba, long-standing and fierce tribal rivalries, cultural norms that keep women largely separated from men, the limited ability of government to deliver services and respond to the root cause of conflict were among the roadblocks.

NDI spent nearly two months meeting with tribal sheikhs from Al Juba, Mareb and other governorates, as well as with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Local Administration, the Governor of Mareb, ministry representatives at the local level and local councilors to secure buy-in for creation of youth councils. Government and tribal leaders raised concerns about the described challenges, and local leaders also feared creating demands on the government that it could not meet. But ultimately, the leaders were eager to discuss effective ways to improve youth participation in their communities and tribes and how they could play an active role in the success of the youth council initiative.

In a July launch ceremony in Al Juba, Mareb Governor Naji Bin Ali Al Zaidi and Sheikh M’Fareh Mohammed Buhaibeh, a respected Mareb tribal leader and tribal negotiator, lauded the youth council's aims and encouraged the young women and men as they embarked on the new initiative.

The council's July meetings featured training in strategic planning, fundraising and local resource development, conflict resolution and mitigation strategies, and leadership and team building. NDI has focused on encouraging youth to work together across gender and tribal divides; build and strengthen the relationship between the youth council and the elected local council; create a conducive environment for regular interaction between youth, tribal leaders and the government; and promote discussion of conflicts facing Juba District.

In just three weeks following its launch, the Juba District Cross-Tribal Youth Council raised $745 in local funds to support its work and established a financial committee, chaired by a female member, a media committee and a legal committee. In turn, the Al Juba Local Council committed space in its building for the council, invited council representatives to serve as honorary members of the local council and is finalizing a strategy to engage youth on community development issues.

Throughout the next year, NDI will continue to support the Al Juba council, working to develop members' skills to educate students on conflict, serve as mediators and become advocates for community development initiatives. NDI will also provide guidance and assistance for efforts to form a similar council in Ain District in the neighboring Shabwa governorate.

Since 2005, with support from the United States Agency for International Development, NDI has worked in partnership with tribal leaders and nongovernmental organizations in the governorates of Mareb, Al-Jawf and Shabwa to assist their efforts to end conflict in their regions.

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Pictured above: Members of the youth council work together.

Published on August 27, 2010