As the second edition of Transitional Justice Week in Yemen begins, we, the members and organizations of the Yemen Peace Forum and the Yemen Justice Network, reaffirm our commitment to defending the victims’ rights and advancing transitional justice as an indispensable foundation for a just and sustainable peace. This year, Transitional Justice Week focuses on reparations as a key pillar of justice, reflecting our firm belief that providing redress to victims is essential to national reconciliation and to rebuilding trust between the state and society.

Years of conflict in Yemen have left thousands of victims who were killed and survivors who have endured enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention, torture, displacement, and loss of livelihoods, alongside profound and lasting social, psychological, and economic harm. No political process or future settlement can deliver lasting peace if it overlooks victims’ right to have their suffering acknowledged, to receive justice, and to obtain redress for the harm they have endured.

Reparations extend beyond financial compensation. They also include official acknowledgment of violations, restoration of dignity, rehabilitation, and guarantees of non-recurrence, in line with the principles of transitional justice and international human rights standards. Such measures are not privileges granted to victims; they are fundamental rights and essential to addressing the consequences of violations, rebuilding trust, and strengthening social cohesion.

As we launch the 2026 Transitional Justice Week campaign, we reaffirm that raising public awareness of transitional justice issues, particularly reparations, is essential to building national consensus around a future founded on justice, dignity, and the rule of law. Placing victims’ rights and needs at the heart of any discussion on peace is also fundamental to building a more inclusive justice process that responds meaningfully to the consequences of the conflict.

We also renew our call to designate September 1 as a National Transitional Justice Day in Yemen, as an annual occasion to strengthen a culture of justice, commemorate victims, and renew the commitment to preventing the recurrence of violations.

In this context, we emphasize the following:

First: We affirm that reparations and compensation are fundamental rights of all victims, without exception, and must constitute a central component of any future peace process or political settlement.

Second: We stress the importance of meaningful participation by victims, survivors, and civil society organizations in designing and implementing reparation and compensation policies, ensuring that these policies respond to their actual needs and directly reflect their experiences and priorities.

Third: We call on Yemeni parties, as well as regional and international actors, to support establishing independent, fair, and inclusive national reparations mechanisms grounded in the principles of transitional justice and centered on victims. These mechanisms should also take into account the specific needs and circumstances of women, children, persons with disabilities, and those most affected by the conflict.

Fourth: We renew our call to designate September 1 as a National Transitional Justice Day in Yemen, as both a symbolic and practical step to raise public awareness and strengthen the values of justice, reconciliation, and peace.

This statement reflects our conviction that justice for victims cannot be postponed until the conflict is over. It is, rather, an essential condition for building a sustainable peace. We remain committed to defending the rights of victims, advancing the principles of transitional justice, and working with all partners toward a Yemen where human dignity is protected and the legacy of violations is addressed through truth, redress, and guarantees of non-recurrence.

Issued by the Yemen Peace Forum and the Yemen Justice Network, as part of Transitional Justice Week in Yemen, September 1, 2026.