Amman, Jordan – The third Yemen International Forum (YIF) concluded on Tuesday with a call for international players not to give up on a political resolution in Yemen as it faces the risk of further military escalation and humanitarian suffering with new US sanctions coming into effect.
Despite the rise in tensions over Gaza, a shaky ceasefire has remained intact since 2022. But there is fear of it unraveling, leading to a return of the Saudi-led war launched in 2015 to restore the internationally recognized government following a Houthi coup in northern Yemen.
“We have long warned of the spillover of this conflict to international interests in the Red Sea and beyond, which is now a reality,” Sana’a Center Co-Executive Director for Policy and Partnerships Osamah Al-Rawhani told the forum in the closing address. “We hope that the three-day discussions have painted a realistic picture of the Yemeni situation … We are proud to maintain this active and creative space for dialogue,” he added.
In a packed hall, UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg delivered a concluding address, during which he implored international partners not to “lose sight of Yemen amid the many global crises. Your continued diplomatic, financial, and humanitarian support is vital.”
“To Yemeni actors, I urge you to keep the doors to dialogue open and prioritize the national interest over factional divides,” he said. “The risk of military escalation within Yemen is increasing, threatening to deepen suffering and set back efforts towards peace.”
Grundberg said keeping the mediation lines open would help the country manage the fall-out from incoming US sanctions after the Houthi movement was declared a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the Trump administration last month.
The sanctions, which threaten to cut northern Yemen out of the global banking system, come after more than a year of Houthi missile and drone attacks on Red Sea shipping and Israel in purported support of Palestinians in Gaza. The attacks have set back Saudi hopes of concluding peace talks that would normalize ties with the Houthis and set in train a Yemeni peace process.
In an earlier plenary session on regional stability, Yousuf Al-Bulushi, chairman of the Muscat Policy Council, Oman’s first independent think tank, said that the Saudi-Houthi roadmap for Yemeni talks was still a viable option.
“I don’t think that the roadmap has died. It is still there, and regional priorities have shifted, but we are moving back to a period of deescalation, and there is a return once again to the prospect of the roadmap in Yemen,” Al-Bulushi said.
Farea Al-Muslimi, a research fellow at Chatham House, however, said the Houthis’ rising profile within the Iran-led alliance of anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian forces in the region could complicate efforts to bring the Houthis in Sana’a to the negotiating table with the Aden-based government.
“The Houthis today are at the forefront of the ‘Axis of Resistance’ after of the death of (Hassan) Nasrallah,” Al-Muslimi said, referring to the charismatic head of Hezbollah, who Israel killed in September. “I fear that many people may have given up on peace in Yemen,” he added.
In a parallel session held under the Chatham House Rule, speakers aired the obstacles they face in aid work in both Houthi and government-held areas. Houthi arrests of dozens of civil society workers in the past year have threatened the aid environment, making it more difficult for groups to operate in the country.
However, one local representative of a foreign aid organization said the Aden authorities tend to view civil society groups as competitors for donor money and public support.
“We need campaigns from the government to publicize their excellent role and combat stereotypes that incorrectly claim they take international money without representing Yemenis. We must not look at civil society organizations as an enemy,” he said. A government official acknowledged the complaints but said sector regulation was still important.
Another session broached the vexed issue of political leadership—in the form of the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) and the cabinet headed by a prime minister.
Both bodies contain representatives of the most important political and military forces in areas outside Houthi control, many of which are Saudi or UAE-backed. This power-sharing arrangement has recently come under intense public scrutiny in the Yemeni media amid worsening economic conditions and revelations of corruption.
The consensus view at the session was that this form of collective leadership remains necessary despite the tensions. It allows the government to navigate the manifold political and economic threats and balances the interests of regional and international partners. One of the most pressing issues now is how Sana’a banks can move to Aden to avoid the US sanctions.
The third Yemen International Forum is organized by the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies, an independent think tank focused on Yemen. Its goal is to unite Yemeni and international civil and political actors to create a pathway toward a peaceful, prosperous, and just Yemen and overcome the country’s ongoing crisis. Since its launch in 2022, the YIF has convened over 500 political representatives, policymakers, peace mediators, experts, and civil society representatives, contributing to multi-thematic peace initiatives, ranging from political and civic engagement to transitional justice, economic de-escalation and addressing environment-conflict nexus. The YIF is the largest international annual conference bringing together Yemeni actors to engage in constructive dialogue on Yemen’s future. It is supported by the Netherlands, Norway, and Open Society Foundations.