Arab Center Washington DC -  On January 17, the United States designated the Houthis in Yemen, also known as Ansar Allah, as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) in response to the armed group’s missile and drone attacks on American and international commercial vessels traveling off Yemen’s Red Sea coastline. The designation took effect on February 16. In a show of solidarity with the Palestinian people, the Houthis vowed to retaliate against Israel until it ends its war on Gaza by attacking and hijacking ships that the group claims are connected to Israel, although many of t ..read more

*The continuing rounds of U.S. airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen in response to their attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, and the re-listing of the Houthis as a "specially designated global terrorist" group, are the latest in a long list of mistakes in U.S. strategy in Yemen. These miscalculations were both expected and unexpected. On the one hand, they were unexpected, given hopes that the United States—and the United Kingdom, which has taken part in some of the bombardment of Yemen—had learned crucial lessons from Yemen's protracted conflict, most of all that the Saudi-led coalitio ..read more

Arab Center Washington DC - The recently concluded United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai, otherwise known as COP28, marked a significant moment in global efforts to address climate change. Over the course of negotiations from November 30 to December 13, representatives from 198 countries grappled with crucial decisions that will shape the world’s response to the climate crisis. Key accomplishments included an agreement to transition away from fossil fuels, the creation of a fund to help vulnerable countries pay for climate-related damage, and the publication of a landmark assess ..read more

Arab Center Washington DC - As Houthi negotiators leave Saudi Arabia after five days of talks with Saudi officials regarding the contours of a compromise solution to Yemen’s ongoing conflict, the country remains in the grip of certain war outcomes, specifically that of a war economy. Although the current conflict famously began with the 2015 Saudi and UAE military intervention against the Houthi armed group, it is in large part the pivotal juncture of many others: the 1994 Yemeni Civil War, the 2004 Houthi insurgency, the turbulent events of Yemen’s 2011 uprising, and the Houthi group’s t ..read more

I was a member of the jury committee that decided the winners of the Samir Kassir Awards for 2023, given by the delegation of the European Union to Lebanon and the Samir Kassir Foundation. This year, 242 journalists participated in the competition from many Arab countries. 81 candidates competed in the Opinion Piece category, 110 in the Investigative Article category, and 54 in the Audiovisual News Report category. The winners were Inas Hakky from Syria, Mahmoud Al-Sobky from Egypt, and Mohamad Chreyteh from Lebanon. The awards ceremony was in Beirut. I was delighted to hand one of the awards ..read more

Sana'a Center, June 22 - As a Yemeni with over 15 years of experience in journalism, I was delighted to have recently been invited by the Samir Kassir Foundation to be one of the seven jury members for its 2023 Award for Freedom of the Press. I am the second Yemeni to be on the foundation’s jury, after photojournalist Amira al-Sharif took part in 2021. Out of 240 entries, 75 made it to the pre-final stage, where they were judged based on three criteria: relevance to human rights topics, journalistic style, and innovation.  The winners were announced on June 5: Syrian filmmaker and wr ..read more

Arab Center Washington DC - In Yemen, the Southern Movement calling for separation between the North and South of Yemen is controversial. For those who oppose it, it is a simple secessionist movement; but for those who take a more neutral position, it is a movement for self-determination. Its supporters think of it as not merely a secessionist movement but a struggle for both independence from a northern “occupation” and the reestablishment of the now defunct state of South Yemen (the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen), which in 1990 was unified with North Yemen (the Yemen Arab Republic ..read more

During the International Journalism Festival in Perugia, Italy, I was invited to speak to students from Catholic University of Milan, doing MA in Journalism. I shared my experience in doing investigative journalism, & the challenges & opportunities for critical independent journalism. You may know more about my talk at the International Journalism Festival here.  ..read more

  Arab Center Washington DC  -  In the course of the conflict in Yemen, Oman’s role has evolved substantially and in various ways. Currently, expectations are high that the sultanate will be able to do more, especially after its having hosted talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran that partially paved the road to a recent deal between the two rivals. Yemen’s humanitarian crisis and the presence of security risks on its border with Oman are among the factors that have made the sultanate’s interaction with both Yemeni and foreign parties to the ongoing conflict more or less inevit ..read more

A feature about Afrah Nasser written by the Nobel Women's Initiative (NWI), part of the NWI's contribution to the global 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence Campaign featuring interviews with women activists about their experiences advocating for peace and women’s rights in conflict zones. Nov. 2022 - Nobel Women's Initiative - A Yemeni human rights activist and writer who claimed political asylum in Sweden in 2011, Afrah is accustomed to freedom of movement. Here, in her native country in 2022, she faced mahram rules that forbid women’s movement without the pre ..read more