UNSC Briefs

New York – March 6, 2025 – Nesmah Mansoor Ali, Senior Policy & Communication Officer at the Peace Track Initiative (PTI), delivered a briefing to the United Nations Security Council, marking PTI’s third engagement with the Council. Her intervention highlighted the compounded crises of armed conflict, climate change, and environmental degradation in Yemen, with a particular focus on their disproportionate impact on women and marginalized communities. Ali underscored the urgent need for climate-responsive peacebuilding, stronger environmental governance, and the inclusion of women in all peace and political processes. She called on the Council to address environmental destruction as a war crime, ensure accountability, and support local peace initiatives tackling resource-based conflicts. This marks PTI’s ongoing commitment to amplifying the voices of Yemeni women and advocating for inclusive and sustainable peace at the highest international level.

Linda Al-Obahi, Senior Advisor on Political Affairs and Mediation, delivered a briefing to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on the deteriorating situation of women's rights in Yemen. Representing the Peace Track Initiative (PTI) and the Women Solidarity Network, she highlighted the urgent humanitarian needs and the systemic violations against women and girls in the country. Linda’s briefing shed light on the severe restrictions on women’s freedom of movement, the rise in gender-based violence, and the increasing use of child marriage and forced displacement as survival strategies. She also emphasized the targeted attacks on women human rights defenders, activists, and marginalized women, many of whom face arbitrary detention, torture, and sexual violence. She called on the Security Council to ensure the release of arbitrarily detained women, include women in peace negotiations, and integrate gender-sensitive policies in Yemen’s transition process. PTI stands committed to supporting Yemeni women and ensuring their voices are heard in all efforts toward sustainable peace.

On 8 March 2021, International Women’s Day, Rasha Jarhum, co-founder and Director of the Peace Track Initiative, addressed the UN Security Council during an Arria-formula meeting. Speaking on behalf of more than 300 Yemeni women leaders represented by the Peace Track Initiative and the Women Solidarity Network, Jarhum underscored the critical yet consistently overlooked contributions of Yemeni women to peacebuilding, and called for their full, meaningful, and sustained inclusion in all formal peace processes. Jarhum’s statement highlighted a striking paradox: despite playing pivotal roles in mediating local ceasefires, facilitating humanitarian access, and securing landmark gains—such as the 30% gender quota in the 2013 National Dialogue Conference—Yemeni women have been systematically excluded from Track I negotiations, including the Kuwait and Stockholm talks. She denounced the patriarchal justifications for their exclusion and criticized the international community’s failure to enforce accountability under UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) and Yemen’s National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security. The statement further drew attention to the growing violence against women, including arbitrary detention, torture, and sexual violence by parties to the conflict, particularly the Houthis. Jarhum urged the Security Council to ensure that future peace processes are inclusive, transparent, and representative—stressing that sustainable peace is unattainable without gender equality and the direct participation of women, youth, and civil society actors. This statement remains a powerful advocacy tool and a timely reminder that women's inclusion must be a non-negotiable pillar in all UN-supported peace efforts for Yemen.

On July 30, 2020, Peace Track Initiative (PTI), in collaboration with the Mothers of Abductees Association and Food for Humanity, delivered a powerful statement at a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting through the voice of Dr. Amat Al-Salam Al-Hajj. Representing the Women Solidarity Network, Dr. Al-Hajj highlighted the plight of detainees in Yemen, including women, and the broader humanitarian crisis aggravated by war, COVID-19, and systemic aid failures. The statement emphasized three core concerns: the urgent need to release arbitrarily detained civilians, the catastrophic impact of the humanitarian crisis exacerbated by the pandemic and floods, and the exclusion of women from peace processes. It also called for meaningful inclusion of women—no less than 50%—in all peace and humanitarian efforts, and for flexible funding to women-led organizations. PTI stands committed to amplifying the voices of Yemeni women and grassroots actors for peace, justice, and human dignity.The Statement was delivered during the event: “On the Frontlines: The impact of the Yemeni conflict on the rights of women and children” a Roundtable organized by the UK Mission.  

Muna Luqman, co-founder of Food4Humanity Foundation and a leader of the Women’s Solidarity Network, delivered a compelling address to the UN Security Council, shedding light on the brutal realities of the war in Yemen and the systematic exclusion of women from peace processes. As both a survivor and a peacebuilder, Luqman shared heartbreaking firsthand accounts of airstrikes, sieges, and the weaponization of hunger—while condemning the failure of the Stockholm Agreement to address gender justice or include the voices of women. Luqman’s testimony exposed the hypocrisy of a peace process that rewards armed actors while sidelining grassroots women mediators who negotiate local ceasefires, secure the release of prisoners, and deliver aid across frontlines. Despite their pivotal roles, women remain absent from formal negotiations, with crucial issues such as sexual violence, child recruitment, and the Southern question being ignored. The statement also highlighted the complicity of the international community, including the Saudi-led coalition’s blockade and Houthi restrictions on aid, which have exacerbated the humanitarian catastrophe."We are not just victims of this war—we are peacebuilders. Yet our voices are mocked while those who wield weapons are rewarded." —Muna Luqman The document concludes with seven concrete demands: an immediate ceasefire, local peace agreements, 50% women’s representation in peace talks, and accountability for war crimes. This urgent appeal remains a rallying cry for inclusive peace, reminding the world that sustainable solutions in Yemen are impossible without women at the table.  

On 16 November 2018, Rasha Jarhum, Director of the Peace Track Initiative, delivered a compelling address to the UN Security Council on behalf of more than 250 Yemeni women leaders and organizations advocating for peace and women's rights. The statement highlighted the devastating humanitarian consequences of the conflict in Yemen, including indiscriminate airstrikes, landmines, sexual violence, and the systematic exclusion of women from formal peace processes. Jarhum emphasized the contradiction at the heart of international mediation efforts, where armed actors are rewarded with a seat at the table, while grassroots peacebuilders—particularly women—are sidelined. Despite playing key roles in brokering local ceasefires, organizing humanitarian evacuations, and negotiating the release of detainees, Yemeni women remain excluded from official negotiations. The statement also criticized the international community for its complicity—through continued arms sales, restrictive migration policies, and insufficient funding for humanitarian aid that addresses women's needs. The statement concluded with 24 actionable recommendations, including an immediate ceasefire, inclusive political negotiations, accountability for war crimes, and ensuring at least 30% representation of women in all peace structures. This statement continues to serve as a vital advocacy tool, reinforcing the message that sustainable peace in Yemen cannot be achieved without full and equal participation of women.