In the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen is the only country that signed the 1951 Refugee Convention, and the 1967 protocol. Yemen has faced challenges to the growth of the number of refugees, mixed migrations, and the internally displaced persons. The Somali refugees who arrive in Yemen are granted the prima facie refugee status, whereas the UNHCR conducts Refugee Status Determination for the refugees from other countries. The UNHCR came in to provide assistance and protection activities for the growing number of refugees in Yemen. Of late, Yemen has been receiving refugees, who are fleeing from the Horn of Africa. These refugees are in search of security, safety, and better economic opportunities, which they lack in their home countries. The number of the internally displaced persons in Yemen has also increased due to the fighting that has been experienced around sa’ada Governorate. However, many refugees in Yemen have become vulnerable due to the worsening conditions of insecurity and economic situation.
Yemen serves as a transit country, which is crossed by a mixed flow of migrants and asylum seekers. In mid-2013, Yemen received more than 240,000 refugees, with who most are Somalis. In July 2013, 50,000 refugees from Ethiopia arrived along the Red sea and Arabian coastlines (Rayo 2012). The massive migration of refugees to Yemen led to holding of a regional conference, which aimed at addressing the regional dimension and movements in Yemen. By August 2013, 1,200 Syrian refugees, who had fled their country due to conflicts, arrived in Yemen. Because of the 1951 Refugee Convention signatory and the 1967 protocol, Yemen played the role of providing land and security for the refugees in Kharaz Camp. Moreover, Yemen granted the refugees access to education and public health system in the urban areas. Apart from the refugees, Yemen suffered a blow from the internally displaced persons who had been displaced because of the war in Yemen.
The deteriorating humanitarian situation in Somalia is the main cause that has led to the fleeing of Somali citizens to other countries. The Somali refugees seek refuge in the neighboring countries which include Yemen, Ethiopia, and Kenya. Since the start of the year 2013, more than 20,000 refugees were reported to have arrived in Yemen (Tannehill 2008). When questioned, the Somali refugees asserted that the main reason that made them flee Somali was famine, drought, forced conscription, and conflicts between communities. Despite the unrest in Yemen, the number of Somali refugees increased at a high rate each month. The security in Yemen, which was worsening made the work of the United Nations dangerous, especially transporting the new refugees along the Gulf of Aden to Kharaz refugee camp.
Most of the refugees who came to Yemen were unaware of the security situation, and the conditions in Yemen. Some of the refugees came to look for employment, but their dreams were cut by the deteriorating security situation in Yemen. The security conditions in Yemen have forced some of the Somali refugees to go return to their countries. Some of the challenges facing the Yemen refugees include human trafficking and smuggling that has been experienced along the Red Sea coast. Moreover, the refugees who use the sea route to Yemen are prone to abuse and sexual assaults (Grynszpan 2005). The problem of sexual harassment happens mostly to the female refugees who are on transit. However, the United Nations are making efforts in Yemen, through providing counseling and medical assistance to the refugees. Most of the Somali refugees in Yemen explain that their country has been faced by conflicts, especially the central and southern parts of Somali. These conflicts are the main reason that has made the Somalis escape from their country to seek refuge in Yemen. However, Yemen has also been faced by instability, which has encouraged smugglers and human traffickers in the routes that the refugees use as they go into Yemen.
The number of refugees in Yemen has increased, making up to 8% of the Yemen’s population. The increase of refugees in Yemen pose both an economic, and security challenge to the Yemen government. Security has been affected in Yemen, after the arrival of the Islamic Shabaab organization from Somali to Yemen. The Somali refugees in Yemen blame the extremist groups in their country for the conditions that they suffer in Yemen. According to the refugees in Yemen, the extremist groups are the ones that forced them to flee Somali, and made it hard for them to get refugee status in Yemen. The government of Yemen reported that there were more than 780,000 African refugees in Yemen, with who most were illegal migrants. However, due to the cases of insecurity, the refugees from the horn of Africa have decreased (Tannehill 2008).
In towns such as Aden, aid projects have been developed to provide health and basic services to the community members and refugees. A center for the disabled children and a home for the vulnerable children were set to help the refugees in the region. In the Yemen refugees’ camps, it was the role of the UNHCR to provide the refugees with shelter, food, education, and medical care services. However, some of the women refugees suffered miscarriages due to the harsh conditions as they crossed the Gulf of Aden. Some other women were beaten and mistreated by the smugglers, forcing them to miscarry. Increase in the population of refugees in the refugee camps led to the overcrowding. Overcrowded refugee camps led to the transmission of diseases, especially the airborne diseases that are easily transmitted. Although the UNHCR made efforts in offering health services, it was difficult to handle the large number of refugees in Yemen. Some refugee camps in Yemen experienced catastrophic humanitarian conditions, due to lack of food and medicine. The spread of diseases claimed the deaths of many refugees in Yemen (Grynszpan 2005).
UNHCR has made efforts through holding meetings with the Yemeni authorities, with the aim of improving the conditions of the refugees. The discussions of the UNHCR that took place in Sa’ada were part of the efforts by the EU Commissioner and the High Commissioner, to improve the refugee living conditions. One of the strategies to solve the problem of refugees was engaging in strategies to promote peace in Somalia, which produced the largest number of refugees in Yemen. Education of the children around Aden city has been seized because more than 70 public schools that the children used were now used to shelter refugees (Rayo 2012). UNHCR is playing an important role in providing shelter and protection for the refugees. The survivors who survived the torture from the smugglers are counseled, and given medical care by the UNHCR.
Grynszpan, M., & David Project Center for Jewish Leadership (Boston, MA) (2005). The forgotten refugees. Boston, MA: The David project.
Rayo, F. (2012). Winning the minds: travels through the terrorist recruiting grounds of Yemen, Pakistan, and the Somali border. New York: CITA Press.
Tannehill, B. R. (2008). Forecasting instability indicators in the horn of Africa region. Wright-Patterson AFB, OH: Air Force Institute of Technology.