By: Safaa Ali | UNDP Yemen | Deputy Resident Representative, Operations
On: 19 December 2018 | Mandarin Catering

AS DELIVERED

Thank you.

Mr. Vice-Minister, Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am pleased to be here today to open the Emergency Employment and Community Rehabilitation Cluster Transition Workshop. As many of you know, my organization – the United Nations Development Programme – proudly leads the EECR Cluster.

Widely referred to as the Early Recovery Cluster, EECR began in 2012 and has changed to fulfill the pressing needs of Yemen over the years.

It was initially established to quickly respond to the urgent early recovery needs of Yemenis. And in 2015, its mandate changed to enable a better response to the increasing needs around tension escalations throughout the country.

Today the Cluster’s coordinated activities have successfully centered around five focus areas. As we embark upon a new chapter, please allow me the opportunity to provide an overview of what we have been focusing upon for the past four years.

The first focus area has been emergency mine action. The EMA helps reduce the risk of death and injury from explosive devices found throughout Yemen.

The impact of this is that it helps Yemenis feel confident in their ability to move around freely and safely – something many people in most of the world take for granted. It also allows for goods and products to move more quickly and securely to cities and villages.

The second focus area has been emergency employment, and the recovery and creation of small and microbusinesses. By providing emergency livelihood opportunities to Yemenis, it empowers them to have more control over their destiny and their dignity. Providing people with emergency employment and strengthening their ability to run businesses enables more Yemenis to provide daily and basic needs for their families.

It allows parents to have the ability to purchase food so their children don’t go to school hungry. So they can concentrate and actively participate in class

It allows families to pay for electricity so their children can study at night.

The third focus area of the EECR has been working to find and support solutions for displaced Yemenis who have had to flee their villages due to the war. We work to support viable solutions for a sustainable return to their homes and communities – from places they never wanted to – or dreamed of – leaving.

Often when Internally Displaced Persons return home, they find that the life they once knew will never be the same. This is when it is extremely important for us to help them discover new ways to make sense of their lives.

The fourth focus area has been to support critical service delivery to hospitals and schools through recovery planning and providing solar panels.

And the last focus area of EERC has been to enhance the ability and capacity of key local Non-Governmental Organizations to actively and successfully address the most pressing community needs. Most importantly, this has allowed the continuation of critical and life-saving services when more traditional options have not been available.

The Cluster has also worked closely with those in the local private sector who are also working to address preparedness, response and recovery in Yemen. These actors work in areas such as food, water and shelter for people that have been affected by the crisis.

So as not to duplicate our efforts – and to ensure that all Yemenis receive the assistance they so desperately need – EERC partners have been working to help establish a network of private sector actors.

This network will help ensure the organizations working on preparedness, response and recovery are working together as one – that there are no overlaps of activities or gaps in assistance.

My colleagues will walk you through the results later, but as I have outlined, the current chapter of EERC has been focused on helping Yemenis affected by the conflict. Together with our partners, we have reached millions of Yemenis annually with access to livelihood opportunities, access to basic infrastructure, access to services, and reducing dangers around explosive devices.

But we feel that there is more we can do. Following a recent global and country-level review of the early recovery coordination mechanisms, it was agreed that EERC will begin to transition to a Humanitarian, Development and Peace nexus.

As the country begins a transition to peace, this work will be more important than ever. The importance of coordinating country-wide efforts to ensure life-saving activities continue to be delivered in a timely and effective manner is critical. Coordination will also be pivotal in addressing the longer-term, more protracted needs of millions of Yemenis who have been affected by the conflict.

The transition of the Cluster does not mean that early recovery will stop being a pressing issue. Rather, the transition should be viewed as acknowledgement that early recovery coordination must be prioritized – and it must include more effective ways to address the needs of Yemenis.

By creating common goals and collective outcomes, the power of delivery will only be stronger and the impact on Yemenis will only be improved.

The results of this workshop will be combined with inputs from a similar workshop that took place in Aden to finalize the Cluster Transition Plan. It will be used to begin planning for the future of humanitarian, development and peace coordination.

I am sure this will be an excellent meeting and am looking forward to helping prepare Yemen for a post-conflict future.