Beyond Yemen: Armed Groups, Human Rights & Global Implications

The Yafa American Community Center (YACC) is pleased to invite you to a panel discussion with:

• Alkhadher Sulaiman, Executive Director, Yafa American Community Center (YACC)
• Dr. Susanne Dahlgren, Anthropologist and Adjunct Professor, University of Helsinki; former Director, Finnish Institute in the Middle East Suomen Lähi-idän instituutti
• Saleh Alnoud, UK-based Solicitor and Member of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) Favells
• Thanos Petouris, Senior Advisor, European Institute of Peace (EIP)

To register to the event please use the following links:

More than a decade of conflict has left Yemen in a devastating humanitarian and human rights crisis. The recent Houthi escalation in the Red Sea has made the search for peace more urgent and raised the stakes both regionally and internationally. This discussion will examine how the escalation threatens to deepen Yemen’s humanitarian emergency and narrow the space for de-escalation and a political process, as well as the unresolved questions of governance, representation and political participation that will shape the country’s future.

About the speakers:

Alkhadher Sulaiman is a Yemeni-American civic leader and advocate working at the intersection of diplomacy, civil society, youth empowerment and international engagement. Sulaiman leads the Third Track initiative, an independent diplomatic and advocacy effort focused on expanding international engagement, strengthening regional relationships and advancing a more inclusive Southern voice in policy discussions. He is also the executive director of Yafa American Community Center (YACC).

Dr. Susanne Dahlgren is an anthropologist, an academic and former director of the Finnish Institute in the Middle East. She has carried out fieldwork in southern Yemen since the 1980s and is the author of Contesting Realities: The Public Sphere and Morality in Southern Yemen.

Saleh Alnoud is a human rights lawyer based in the UK who also served as a spokesperson for the Southern Transitional Council (STC).

Thanos Petouris is a senior Advisor at the European Institute of Peace.  He is in charge of research for the Institute’s Southern Dialogue Process and plays a central role in relationship management with Yemeni and international stakeholders.