The State of Security in Yemen… Great Challenges and Inherent Weaknesses

1. The State of Security in Yemen… Great Challenges and Inherent Weaknesses

2. Presentation sections • About Security in Yemen • Political-security problems: Houthi/ Al-Qaeda / Southern Issue • Security problems of social nature: Revenge and tribal wars • Crime • Public opinion trends towards security and security actors • Do Yemenis feel safe? • Who provides security in Yemen? • Multiplicity of security bodies • Towards an effective security strategy

3. State of Security in Yemen

4. Security problems related to politics: Sa’ada issue Flash points Trends of Public Opinion (2012) The state had six wars against the Houthis armed group in Sa’ada northern governorate of Yemen, started in 2003. There is no official statistics on the causalities of these wars Thousands of people evacuated from Sa’ada governorate to the neighboring governorates as a result of the wars The wars caused huge economic losses Many questions were raised on the real reasons of these wars’ breakouts, stops, and who was behind the decisions taken on both cases, as well as the role of the parliament absent during the six wars. Currently, the Houthi group controls the whole Sa’ada governorate in addition to many areas of Al-Jawf, Hajjah and Amran governorates. 73.6% of Yemenis consider the issue of Sa’ada as a serious issue.

5. Security problems related to politics: The southern movement Flash points Trends of Public Opinion (2011-2012) Since 2006, a popular movement emerged raising demanding slogans which changed through the years into political slogans calling for the separation from north. The Southern Movement started peacefully. However, it started taking an armed pattern in the past two years Some areas in the south went out of control due to the strength of the Southern Movement There are no official statistics on causalities due to the clashes between army and security on one side, and southern protesters in the other side . 60% of Yemenis consider the Southern Issue as a serious issue.

6. Security problems related to politics:Al-Qaeda organization Flash points Trends of public opinion (2011-2012) There is much controversy over the Al-Qaeda organization in Yemen, as well as the sources of its arming, and its supporters Al-Qaeda is controlling wide areas of Abyanand Shabwa governorates, and existing effectively in Marib, Aljawf and recently in Al-Baidha governorate. There was much clamor on the reasons behind the control of Al-Qaeda on some areas. The Supreme Militant Committee Report referred to the division of the army as one of the reasons behind the appearance of Al-Qaeda. 78% of Yemenis feel that Al-Qaeda is a serious problem (2012) 75% describe Al-Qaeda as a very serious threat to the security of the country (2012) 35.2% believe that the Yemeni army does not work enough to fight terrorism in Yemen (2011)

7. Security problems of Social Nature:Tribal conflicts and spread of arms Flash points Trends of public opinion 2012 Many areas in Yemen, particularly the tribal governorates in the north, witness bloody tribal conflicts Revenge is one of the most common crimes in such areas According to some estimations, there are more than 60 millions of arms in the hands of Yemenis citizens (but these estimations are uncertain and may be exaggerated) 63.5% of Yemenis consider tribal conflicts as very serious threat to the security of the country

8. Crime Official statistics Trends of public opinion 2011 The official statistics show that the registered crimes are 44,746 crimes during 2010. Many crimes in Yemen are not registered in the official registrations as they do not reach the official authorities. 52% of Yemenis will resort to police first to inform about a serious crime. 26.2% will first inform their tribal leaders about serious crimes, 6.6% their neighbors, and 2% their religious leaders.

9. The trends of public opinion on security and security actors

10. Do Yemenis feel safe? Trends of public opinion (2012) Deteriorating security situation 80.9% of Yemenis evaluate security situation in Yemen as bad or very bad, versus 16.5% of Yemenis which have a different opinion. Only 28.7% do not feel safe in their area, while 70.7% feel safe in their area. 70% of Yemenis feel safe when walking at night in their areas, and 26.4% didn’t (2011). The more Yemenis are stuck to their primary groups, the more safe do they feel, and they feel less safe when going abroad. Security is weaker in urban areas rather than rural areas.

11. Who provides security in Yemen? Trends of public opinion 2011 Significances 45.1% trust police in their area, while 44.8% don’t. 41% consider police the first responsible for providing security in their areas, while more than 36% of interviewees selected unofficial authorities, (religious and tribal leaders, neighbors, and heads of neighbors) as responsibles The state in Yemen could not exercise all the functions of a modern state. Informal actors still hold important tasks, including security.

12. Multiplicity of security bodies Trend of public opinion (2012) Multiplicity of security bodies and references 33.9% of Yemenis consider restructuring security bodies a serious issue (the concept of restructuring security bodies is ambiguous for the majority of people).

13. Towards effective security strategy Whether security exists or not, its perception is determined by the local conception of security. States unwilling or unable to provide enough security to all their citizens, as it happens in fragile states, innovative security governance methods are needed to fill the gaps of the government’s perspective. Disarmament and reduction of small arms (and its wide presence in the territory) in vulnerable states can only be achieved after building efficient security structures which ensure accountability, transparency and rule of law. Community security can be achieved in fragile states by involving these communities in designing, administering and – under certain conditions- implementing the process of providing security according to their own needs. Such trends must be included in a comprehensive national strategy to ensure the accountabilityand oversight of the security services’ suppliers.