• Country/entity

  Yemen
  

• Region

  Middle East and North Africa
  

• Agreement name

  Agreement between the Bani Maudhah, Bani al-Shurayfi and Bani Rassam in Utmah, Dhamar

• Date

  20 Jan 2014

• Agreement status

  Multiparty signed/agreed

• Interim arrangement

  Yes

• Agreement/conflict level

  Intrastate/local conflict ( Yemeni Civil Wars (1994) (2011 - ) )

• Stage

  Ceasefire/related

• Conflict nature

  Inter-group

• Peace process

  Yemen Inter-group Agreements

• Parties

  Page 1, ...agreement was reached between the brothers whose names and signatures are listed below, each one of them representing themselves, their side, the families of the victims, and the sheikhs, prominent social figures, dignitaries, and civilians from the Bani Maudhah, Bani al-Shurayfi, and the Bani Rassam, all of whom are from Mikhlaf Himyar in the middle of the Utmah district in the Dhamar governorate

• Third parties

  Page 1, This truce was written under the knowledge of: General Ismael al-Samawi [Signed] Judge Hamoud bin Abdulhameed al-Hitar

• Description

  Truce agreement to last for 6 months between three tribes in the Utmah District of Dhammar Governorate. Agreement appears to be mediated by a judge and signed by the mediator and a general on behalf of the conflict parties. Truce is to extent to public and private venues and beyond the borders of Yemen to include individuals abroad. Enforcement mechanism is a four-fold retribution on anyone that violates the agreement undertaken by those calling for the truce and the guarantors.

• Agreement document

  YE_140120_Agreement between Bani al-Shurayfi and Bani Rassam in Utmah, Dhamar_EN.pdf | Download PDF

• Agreement document (original language)

  YE_140120_Agreement between Bani al-Shurayfi and Bani Rassam in Utmah, Dhammar_AR.pdf | Download PDF

Local agreement properties

• Process type

  Formal structured process
  

• Rationale

  This inter-tribal agreement appears to follow established processes regarding representation and enforcement and is supported by a judge and a general. The judge appears to be making supportive statements in the media, where the general appears to be affiliated with local security forces and could be viewed as a type of guarantor. The agreement reflects a broader practice at the time of tribal agreements which are underpinned by mutual understandings around respect and social or cultural values. Parties themselves are both the actors who appear to enforce the agreement and ensure punishment of those who violate it. These practices are often tied in with some form of pledged support from local security actors, who they are truly affiliated with however is not always clear. In this example, it is also worth noting that many of the examples around the same time are agreements between tribes and Ansar Allah (Houthis). In this sense, tribes may enter an agreement or carry out a practice throughout a process differently when entering agreements with each other as opposed to with the Houthis or terrorist organisations.

• Is there a documented link to a national peace process?

  Yes

• Link to national process: articulated rationale

  [Summary] Agreement on Ministry of Justice letterhead and signed by a judge and a general on behalf of the three tribes to which the agreement pertains. It does not seem the letter heading can infer a link, there is no clarity or evidence on how the piece of paper was procured or circulated. As this is within a complex conflict and on the basis of involvement by local governance actors or state representatives, it could be possible to consider the involvement of the Judge as a link to the national process as he is playing a form of mediatory role.

• Name of Locale

  Dhammar governorate

• Nature Of Locale

  Region

• GPS Lat/Long (DD)

  14.501454, 44.016026

• Participant type

  Domestic religious organisation/leader or other elder
  

• Mediator, facilitator or similar

  Mediator or similar referred to

  Mediator (references)

  Page 1, 2. ... The signatures of the parties to the truce and their guarantors are included below in agreement for what is written in this agreement, and Allah is the arbiter of success and guidance. This truce was written under the knowledge of: General Ismael al-Samawi Judge Hamoud bin Abdulhameed al-Hitar [Signed] Additionally, the source implied the Judge was playing the role of a mediator, leading the effort and providing official statements in the media. The General appears as a guarantor and it seems is representing local security forces. Guarantors from both sides are also referenced in the provisions as sources of enforcement, regarding punishment of those who violate the agreement.

  Type of mediator/facilitator/similar

Local issues

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Republic of Yemen

Ministry of Justice

General Directorate for Documentation

Document

An agreement was reached between the brothers whose names and signatures are listed below, each one of them representing themselves, their side, the families of the victims, and the sheikhs, prominent social figures, dignitaries, and civilians from the Bani Maudhah, Bani al-Shurayfi, and the Bani Rassam, all of whom are from Mikhlaf Himyar in the middle of the Utmah district in the Dhamar governorate, as follows:

1. To stop the war and end the armed mobilization and taking down their military preparations from all of the sites of the fighting and the clashes, as well as returning the people displaced and left homeless by the war to their homes

2. To start an absolute truce that shall last for six months between the three parties mentioned above, their allies, and those on their side, and this truce will include stopping any fighting or tribal vendettas that have been caused by the wars between these parties since their beginning and until today.

This truce shall be a clean and honorable truce in the all areas, villages, cities, farms, roads, markets, masjids, schools, celebrations, weddings, funerals, government institutions, businesses, and anywhere else that the two parties may meet with each other, in rural areas and urbans, inside Yemen or abroad.

This truce shall not be ended or violated during its duration, and any violation or breach of it during its duration, by any of the parties against any one of the other parties, shall be punished forty-four-fold, and this punishment shall be enforced by the individuals calling for the truce and its guarantors from each side, whose names are provided for each side.

The people whose honor and guarantees were included in this agreement shall be the ones responsible for restoring rights and the honor of the parties in the case of the breach, and each side is fully responsible for any actions relating to this truce during its duration.

The signatures of the parties to the truce and their guarantors are included below in agreement for what is written in this agreement, and Allah is the arbiter of success and guidance.

20/1/2014

This truce was written under the knowledge of:

General Ismael al-Samawi

Judge Hamoud bin Abdulhameed al-Hitar [Signed]