Five steps to implement the broken Stockholm agreement in Yemen

At a meeting held earlier this month in Riyadh, Yemeni Foreign Minister Khaled al-Yamani discussed with UN envoy Martin Griffiths the obstacles to implementing the Stockholm agreement to bring peace to Yemen, affirming the commitment of his government to implement the terms of the agreement and recalling the concessions it made in order to make progress in building peace, according to Yemen’s official Saba news agency.

Yamani explained that the intransigence and procrastination of the Iranian-backed Houthi group could lead to the failure of the agreement and limit the chances of reaching a political solution. He added that the implementation of the agreement depends on international pressure on the Houthis.

For his part, the UN envoy praised the approval of the Yemeni government to implement the first and second steps of the first phase of the agreement and its withdrawal from the ports of Hodeidah, Salif and Ras Isa.

He stressed that the United Nations and the international community are keen on the success of the Stockholm agreement between the Yemeni government and the Houthi group to resolve the crisis in Hodeidah and exchange about 16,000 prisoners and detainees.

Despite the successive stumbling blocks, the Stockholm agreement still offers a real opportunity to build peace in Yemen. The United Nations and the international community must hold the parties to their commitments and not let them collapse. There will be no chance of a similar deal for a long time.

Below we review five steps that the United Nations and the wider international community must urgently take to protect the agreement and move forward with its provisions.

Prevent collapse

The Houthis have violated the ceasefire agreement hundreds of times and they deceive and procrastinate in handing over the port of Hodeidah, aiming to provoke the Yemeni government to withdraw from the agreement in order to allow the Houthis to carry out further violations. The United Nations and the wider international community must put pressure on the Houthis to stop their provocative movements and start implementing the agreement, which will require greater cooperation from the Houthis first.

Ceasefire

After the talks in Sweden, the United Nations sought to organize a truce in Hodeidah, but the agreement did not include technical details on the scope, nature or duration of the ceasefire or mechanisms to stop fighting quickly if it breaks out again. Further complicating the problem, the United Nations has not deployed a large-scale monitoring team.

In order for talks to begin between the government and the militia regarding redeployment, a clear set of rules governing the ceasefire must be established and troop positions must be known, especially since the Iranian-backed Houthis have set up several barriers throughout Hodeidah.

A skilled technical team capable of assessing Houthi violations is also required. The United Nations needs to appoint and deploy observers in the field and determine how best to assess compliance with the ceasefire. The team will also need freedom of movement around Hodeidah, which they have not yet been able to achieve because of Houthi objections.

Redeployment

After the Houthi claims that they have moved their main combat forces from the ports of Hodeidah, Ras Isa and Salif, the redeployment committee must determine the form of "local forces" that must control the ports, who must secure facilities, and how to verify the handover so that this issue will not be filled with loopholes for the Houthis to exploit.

The issue of reaching an understanding on these matters is an urgent task, especially for the United Nations, which will give credibility as an intermediary, while failing to do so will have the opposite effect. The United Nations also needs to redefine the deadlines for redeployments agreed upon in Sweden, which were set at 21 days after the ceasefire was announced, meaning that the deadline was on January 8.

Houthi obstacle

The Houthi militia is the main obstacle to progress in the implementation of the agreement. Under the terms of the Stockholm agreement, it must take the first step by redeploying its troops from the three main Red Sea ports. The two sides will then have to conduct a series of mutual redeployments at vital facilities, leading to the complete demilitarization of the Red Sea trade corridor.

In order to move ahead with the first steps of the agreement, the militia must be pressed to comply, especially with regard to the freedom of movement of the UN team in the territories under its control. Brussels must also continue to press the issue of redeployment with the Houthis in Sanaa.

International consensus

The Sweden consultations have curbed the fighting in Hodeidah, as well as reducing famine and the humanitarian crisis in Yemen. If the Stockholm agreement can be fully implemented and progress is made on the issue of prisoner exchange, the credibility of the United Nations will be greatly enhanced as a mediator.

Making the most of the Stockholm agreement requires international consensus, especially in the UN Security Council, which will almost certainly have to allow for repeated extensions of the UN mandate in Yemen. The international community has gradually increased the condemnation of Houthi violations recently, where several official UN statements and reports held the Houthi militia responsible for the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Hodeidah and the looting of relief aid.

A recent report by the UN Security Council Panel of Experts has accused the Houthis of widespread abuses and breaches of international law.

In the coming period, there must be international consensus regarding Yemen, with clearer and firmer positions taken in the UN Security Council against the Houthis, as well as holding the militia to the Stockholm agreement under a fixed timetable. Implementing the agreement has become the last chance to stop the war in Yemen and move towards a political solution under strict international control, which is threatened by the Houthi position rejecting the implementation of the agreement.