German Yemen Centre for Peace and Development e.V

Citizenship and civil rights are fundamental human rights and no one has the right to withdraw them out of law. The German-Yemeni Center for Peace and Development followed with great concern the forced relocation of the Bahá’í community and the confiscation of their property and money, as well as the withdrawal of their citizenship following arbitrary arrest and physical and psychological torture in non-humanitarian prisons by the Houthi militia in Yemen. The Center regards these actions as manifest violations of human rights and as a clear violation of all international norms and laws relating to human rights, dignity and citizenship. These procedures are not of a legal or statutory nature. Accordingly, the German-Yemeni Center for Peace and Development condemns these inhuman and illegal measures and condemns all associated measures such as the confiscation of funds. The center calls on the international community and various human rights organizations to condemn Houthi violations of the Baha’i community and to exert pressure so that all who want to live in their homeland can return. In addition, we demand that the international community exert pressure so that the Houthi militia return all seized funds to the Bahá’í community and compensate those affected accordingly.

Within the framework of the “I Love My School” project, the German-Yemeni Center has implemented the phase of distributing school bags with stationery to female and male students in Saif Bin Dhi Yazan School at remote village in Khawlan District, Sana’a, Yemen. There are nearly 2 million children who are now out of school (UNICEF, 2021). Many reasons forced those children to sacrifice their education. “More than 2,500 schools are out of use, with two-thirds damaged by attacks, 27% closed and 7% used for military purposes or as shelters for displaced people. At least 2,419 children have been recruited in the fighting” (UNICEF, 2018). Others were forced to flee from armed-conflict zones to camps or rural areas. Others dropped out of school to work to provide a livelihood for their families due to the death of their breadwinner. In addition, there are approximately 171,600 teachers who have not received their stipend constantly since 2016 (UNICEF, 20121). Moreover, lack of safety, transportation to distant schools also weaken the teachers’ regular attendance. This is threatening 4 million children to lose access to education. In addition, girls become unable to attend schools if female teachers are not available, as their families reject the idea of their daughters being taught by male teachers, due to conservative social and religious practices. Female teachers are rarely available in rural areas than in urban areas, so many girls drop out of school there. It is worthy to mention that many are also taken by untrained teachers, who abuse the schools to spread war propaganda. The Center plans to tackle this devastating situation and support the continuation of school operations by reopening schools in densely populated areas and returning qualified teachers and educational staff. The education program in the center aims, through its strategy, to establish many educational projects through the rehabilitation and restoration of schools, as well as to secure some educational requirements for students, especially in rural areas such as chairs and blackboards, and the restoration of health facilities in the school, and other requirements that help provide a safe environment for education. In addition, this program is enabling regular teaching operations by paying the salaries of the school and the teaching staff, which guarantees the restoration of the independence of teachers and their families through income security. These initiatives will prevent children from dropping out of school, who are exposed through war propaganda to being dragged to fight on the frontlines.

The project aims to enhance the quality of education in the Khawlan district of Sana’a by providing training to teachers. The primary objective is to ensure that all students, particularly girls, continue attending school without dropouts and to increase enrollment. In collaboration with the German organization “Nord Süd Brücke Stiftung,” the project conducted a needs assessment in primary schools and held a meeting to implement training in rural schools with high educational needs. The training focused on active learning, classroom management, and instructional organization for 22 male and female teachers. The training materials were developed by experts from the Ministry of Education. After completing the training, the project discussed the needs of female teachers, including educational resources and addressing salary shortages caused by the war. The main benefits of the project include active participation of teachers, capacity building, and the indirect impact on 520 students in the region.