New NDC appointees named

This past week, President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi named Southern Movement representative Yasin Makkawi the Vice President of the National Dialogue Conference (NDC). Hadi also officially approved the NDC working groups’ plans to send committees out on field visits, which are set to begin on Saturday.

Mohammed Ali Ahmed was also chosen to fill the position of chairman of the Southern Issue Working Group.

Benomar, other notable figures visit NDC

Much of the past week’s NDC activity surrounded United Nations Special Envoy to Yemen Jamal Benomar’s visit to Sana’a. During the week, Benomar made multiple visits to the main site of the NDC, the Movenpick Hotel, where he met with the conference Secretariat General, the nine working groups and the NDC media center.

Benomar also met with NDC ‘ambassadors’, individuals who are expected to play key roles in drawing links between the conference and citizens in Yemen’s various governorates.

Other notable guests who visited the NDC included the Director of the Gulf Cooperation Council’s Sana’a office, Saad Al-Arifi , who visited the NDC’s Good Governance, Development and Southern Issue Working Groups and met with NDC Secretary General Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak.

German Ambassador Holger Green also visited the Southern Issue Working Group and answered questions from its members. He advised that in the event that Yemen opts for a federalist system, there should be six or seven federal regions. 

The Steering Committee for the NDC’s Trust Fund held a meeting to discuss a quarterly report on funds so far spent at the NDC, as well as the Secretariat General’s achievements to date.

Field visit preparations

The Secretariat General met with the chairpersons and the deputies of the nine Working Groups and gave its approval to the groups’ field visit plans, which included the cities they plan to visit.

The first round of visits will take place from May 12-17. In coordination with the National Democratic Institute, a public relations training session was held for the working groups’ vice chairpersons.

Another workshop, focusing on the preparation of field visit plans, was also held for thirty NDC members from the Good Governance, Development and National Issues Working Groups.

Secretary General Ahmed bin Mubarak and his deputies, Afrah Al-Zouba and Yassir Al-Roaini, also attended a variety of events in support of the NDC.

The Army and Security Working Groups paid visits to Yemen’s Interior and Defense Ministries, as well as the National Security headquarters; meanwhile, the Good Governance Working Group visited the Oil and Minerals Ministry.

Working group activity

Back in the Movenpick Hotel’s meeting halls, all working groups continued to hold topical discussions in accordance with their respective agendas. Among the topics which were heavily discussed were the ‘roots’ of southern problems and visions of Yemen’s future state structure and electoral system.

Members of the Southern Issue Working Group decided to begin hearing presentations on the various facets of their issue; all field visits were suspended until a time when all parties and conference segments had concluded presentations of their respective takes on the matter.

Human Rights Watch researcher Letta Tayler delivered a lecture to the National Issues and Transitional Justice Working Group which stressed the importance of addressing enforced disappearances and other violations with the aim of ensuring the accomplishment of transitional justice for Yemen.

Central Bank President Muhammad bin Hammam and various Yemeni Ministers visited the Development Working Group and delivered presentations on matters of development and the performance of Yemen’s public offices. 

NDC members stage topical protests

This week in the Movenpick’s lobby area, NDC members staged several protests. The protests were held in response to various issues, including the targeted killings of Yemeni Air Force pilots and controversial nominations of individuals for leadership positions at the Central Organization for Auditing.

Further demonstrations included demands for a strategy to combat and the chewing of qat, calls for improved basic services for Rima governorate and for action to be taken to prevent rights violations against members of Yemen’s journalists. A demonstration was also held in solidarity with imprisoned youth revolutionaries. 

The overall attendance rate for NDC members over the past week was 89%.