CJPME Analysis, published May, 2015: In March, 2015, following increased Houthi gains in Yemen, Saudi Arabia led a coalition of countries in a campaign of airstrikes on Yemen termed “Operation Decisive Storm.”  After just two months, the civilian and humanitarian toll on Yemen was devastating, and human rights organizations have identified many suspected violations of international law.

Montreal, April 21, 2015  — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) calls on the Canadian government to push diplomatically for a ceasefire in Yemen.  Not only is the civil war in the country causing widespread death and destruction, but the Saudi Arabia-led airstrikes are adding to the mayhem and obstructing humanitarian efforts.  “While it may be difficult to intervene neutrally in a civil war, Canada should certainly do everything it can to stop the Saudi-led airstrikes.  These airstrikes are carried out in clear violation of international law,” asserts Thomas Woodley, President of CJPME.

CJPME Factsheet 193, published April 2015: This Factsheet provides an overview of the Yemeni Civil War, looking at the Arab Spring's impact on Yemen, the origins of the conflict, and the groups involved. 

CJPME Factsheet 170, published April, 2013: Tawakkol Karman is a Yemeni political activist who, along with two female Liberian peace activists, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011.  This factsheet looks at her life leading up to, and following the awarding of the peace prize.  

CJPME Factsheet 110, published February, 2011: This factsheet looks at the anti-government protests taking place in Yemen, some of the most significant in the country’s history. US-allied President Ali Abdullah Saleh has been in power for three decades and Yemenis’ patience for reforms is running out. Protests stem from economic stagnation and rising inequality—it is the poorest country in the Arab world—as well as the lack of democracy. The Tunisian and Egyptian uprisings have inspired Yemenis and have generated a sense among them that deep change is now within their grasp.