Riyadh Agreement Explained

Riyadh Agreement
Type:Peace treaty
Date Signed:5 November 2019
Location Signed:Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Mediators:
  • Saudi Arabia
Signatories:
Parties:
Language:Arabic

The Riyadh Agreement (Arabic: اتفاق الرياض|translit=Ittifāq ar-Riyāḏ) was signed on 5 November 2019 in the capital city of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, between Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, representing the Saudi-backed government of Yemen, Muhammad bin Zayid Al Nahyan, representing the United Arab Emirates, and Aydarus az-Zubaydi, representing the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC).[1] It followed the Southern Yemen clashes of August 2019, with the goal of ending the fighting and establishing a united front against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, dominant in the north of the country.[2]

Details

The agreement centered around the Yemeni government recognizing the legitimacy of the STC and allowing them into the government, in exchange for the STC withdrawing militarily from Aden and giving up some security control in the south of the country.[3] The agreement also laid out a number of changes to Yemen's political situation. Foremost among these was changing the maximum number of ministers in the cabinet from 30 to 24, specifying that, of these cabinet positions, they must be equally distributed between northern and southern Yemenis.[4] [5] It also ordered the redeployment of both government and STC forces away from Aden, with the security inside the city being overseen by the Saudi military. Additionally, all military and security units of the STC were to be integrated under the Yemeni Ministries of Interior and Defence.[4]

Aftermath

The agreement's terms have for the most part gone unimplemented, and resulted in little change. While the agreement succeeded at establishing local ceasefires in Abyan Governorate, its major objectives have almost all been ignored and unimplemented, and all the deadlines specified in the agreement were missed.[6] A unity cabinet was established one year after the agreement was signed, and new governors were appointed for two governorates of Shabwah and Aden, however, government and STC forces both failed to withdraw from Aden, most governorates' governors have not been changed, and the STC's military and security units have not been integrated under the Yemeni Ministries of Interior and Defence. The agreement effectively ended with a de facto partition of the country between STC and Yemeni Government control, failing to establish the national unity it had aimed to create.[7] Opposing political factions also took the ceasefire arising from the agreement as an opportunity to abduct and assassinate a number of their political opponents in Aden, particularly those of the STC and Al-Islah party. On 1 January 2020, the STC pulled out of participation in joint committees working to implement the deal, and on 25 August of the same year, following its re-militarization of Abyan Governorate, the STC officially suspended their participation in all talks relating to the agreement's implementation.[8] [9] [10]

International reactions

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: December 2019 . The Riyadh Agreement . 1 May 2022 . Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Washington, DC.
  2. Web site: 3 March 2022 . The Graveyard of Hubris – Yemen Annual Review 2021 . 1 May 2022 . Sana'a Center For Strategic Studies . en.
  3. Web site: Forster . Robert . 14 November 2019 . Yemen's 'Handshake moment': What other peace processes can tell us about the Riyadh Agreement . 1 May 2022 . Chr. Michelsen Institute . en . 10.2139/ssrn.3561618 . 3561618.
  4. Web site: 29 July 2020 . Yemen's Riyadh Agreement: An overview . 1 May 2022 . . en.
  5. Web site: 5 November 2019 . The Riyadh Agreement: Saudi Arabia Takes the Helm in Southern Yemen . 1 May 2022 . Sana'a Center For Strategic Studies . en.
  6. Web site: 25 January 2022 . Final report of the Panel of Experts on Yemen established pursuant to Security Council resolution 2140 (2014) . 1 May 2022 . UN Security Council.
  7. Web site: 6 November 2020 . The Riyadh Agreement's Fading Promise – The Yemen Review, October 2020 . 1 May 2022 . Sana'a Center For Strategic Studies . en.
  8. News: 1 January 2020 . Yemen's southern separatists pull out of Riyadh agreement committees . en . . 2 May 2022.
  9. Web site: Failure of 'Riyadh Agreement', STC Sends Four Military Brigades to Abyan . 2 May 2022 . . en.
  10. Web site: 26 August 2022 . Yemen's southern separatists withdraw from Riyadh peace deal . 2 May 2022 . . en.
  11. Web site: 18 December 2020 . Press Statement by the UN Special Envoy for Yemen on the Riyadh Agreement Implementation . 1 May 2022 . . en.
  12. Web site: 6 November 2019 . Iran Rejects Riyadh Deal between Hadi, Yemeni Separatists . 1 May 2022 . . en.
  13. Web site: 19 December 2020 . Implementation of Riyadh Agreement praised, raises hopes of ending Yemen conflict . 1 May 2022 . . en.
  14. Web site: 5 November 2019 . "الحوثي" تهاجم اتفاق الرياض: وقع عليه من لا إرادة له . Al-Houthi attacks the Riyadh agreement: It was signed by those who have no will . 1 May 2022 . Arabi 24 . ar.
  15. Web site: 26 October 2019 . Spokesman "Transitional": Riyadh agreement a strategic step on the path to the goals of liberation and independence . 1 May 2022 . Al-Masdar Online . en.
  16. Web site: al-Tamimi . Nabil Abdullah . 2 November 2020 . Yemen's Hadi reiterates support for Riyadh Agreement . 1 May 2022 . Al-Mashareq . Aden . en-GB.
  17. Web site: 4 August 2020 . Yemen faction rejects implementation of Riyadh Agreement . 1 May 2022 . . en-GB.
  18. Web site: 12 December 2019 . Yemen: Riyadh Agreement Ignores Rights Abuses . 1 May 2022 . . en.

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