Over the past week or two I have observed that there seems a renewed determination to bring the National Dialogue Conference to an end, though there is still keen debate about what should be in the final outcomes: what needs to be agreed definitively now, and what might be worked out in detail later. While I have been outside Yemen for a couple of weeks spending time with family and friends, I’ve been asking myself what I would like to see at the end of the National Dialogue Conference.
Perhaps the first thing is a commitment to continued dialogue. We all despair at the violence that we see in Syria, Egypt, Libya and now South Sudan. South Sudan is perhaps a warning that separation is not a magic solution to regional differences. And I am increasingly distressed by the violent clashes that are breaking out in Yemen – in Saadah, Hadramawt, al-Dali’ and Lahj, and Aden. Whether or not they are influenced by the imminence of the end of the NDC, these bloody confrontations will not solve Yemen’s problems, or the problems of the factions that are involved in them. In the end they will have to be resolved by negotiation and discussion.
I am impressed by the thought and detail that has gone into the reports of the working groups that will provide guidance to the team that will draft the Constitution. But the second thing that I would like to see is a commitment to make the political process work. We all like to have an idea of what the future will bring – a plan, a roadmap or a constitution. But I have learned that sometimes the detail of the process is not the most important thing. What is important is a commitment by all parties to make the process work, and in the interests of everyone. I am not one hundred percent certain that I have seen that commitment from all the parties in the National Dialogue Conference – many seem interested more in securing their own interests, or seeing their own arguments prevail, than in ensuring the success of a process that will create a better Yemen – even if the plan that emerges is not, in their view, the perfect one.
And finally, there has to be a commitment to implement the plan, and for people to stand by and actively support the outcomes of the NDC. Many have told me that the current constitution of Yemen is not so bad – things went wrong because it was not implemented properly, or that it was implemented in a way that favoured some and disadvantaged others. They have said the same about the unification agreement, or about the document of Pledge and Accord signed in Amman in 1994.
I can understand why parties in the NDC want to see a clear plan, and guarantees that it will be implemented. Guarantees from outside will do little to help if, in reality, Yemenis themselves are not committed to implementation and delivery. The true guarantor of Yemen’s future is its people, and for all sides to show that they are sincere and can be trusted. I am not sure that we are there yet either. The dialogue of the past months has helped to break down barriers and start to heal old wounds. But there is a way to go yet.
Yemenis can remain confident that their friends in the international community will do all they can to help them and their country along the winding road to a better future. The unprecedented co-operation within the “Group of Ten” is something that Yemenis cannot afford to waste. Nor is the unstinting effort of UN Assistant Secretary General Jamal Benomar, who is often criticised for failing to come up with perfect solutions when Yemenis struggle to agree on constructive proposals of their own. We all need to continue moving forward and we need to do this together.