Despite the prominent role played by Yemeni youth in the political process accompanying the 2011 Youth Popular Revolution and their participation in the National Dialogue Conference, their involvement in dialogue and negotiations as Track I of the peacebuilding process during the war that began in 2015 differed from their earlier engagement in terms of the effectiveness and impact of their participation. During this period, youth participation varied for several reasons. Some were related to the young people themselves, while others were primarily linked to the role played by the Office of the UN Special Envoy for Yemen and UN agencies supporting youth. Other factors related to the role of civil society and its ability to represent young people, amplify their voices, and strengthen their participation. This paper examines the current state of Yemeni youth inclusion in Track I of the peacebuilding process and highlights the obstacles that hinder their participation in ending the conflict and building peace. The paper proposes a two-pronged approach. The first focuses on building young people’s capacities in negotiation, mobilization, and advocacy. The second focuses on providing institutional mechanisms that enable youth to access and participate in Track I of the peacebuilding process. These mechanisms could include reactivating the Youth and Women’s Forum affiliated with the Office of the UN Special Envoy, establishing a youth group bringing together the various youth coalitions and initiatives working on peacebuilding, and creating an oversight body and a parallel youth “shadow conference” alongside negotiations among the main conflict parties. In this regard, the paper recommends that the Office of the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, as well as UN and international agencies, take these recommendations into consideration in order to strengthen the effective participation of Yemeni youth in efforts to bring the ongoing conflict to an end.
