ObjectivesFund scope
Involved an armed conflict that has had a devastating impact on national human and socio-economic development, the crisis in Yemen has affected regional stability, flow of trade, shipping and freedom of navigation, and resulted in coalition airstrikes against militias where civilians are caught in the middle and faced with, what international organizations call, “the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.” Because it is one of the most heavily armed countries in the world, weapons are trafficked into Southern Yemen, and from Yemen to Puntland, through maritime routes by organized crime syndicates that also smuggle refugees and economic migrants from the Horn of Africa. Currently, Yemen is used as a transit hub for heroin and hash that comes from Iran, Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan and is headed for the Mediterranean.
The crisis has affected more than 20 million people with food insecurity (10 million people), malnutrition (1.8 million children) and poor access to fuel, medicine, commercial goods, and humanitarian aid being the most crippling challenges. Socially, Yemen ranks last (out of 149 countries( on the World Economic Forum’s gender gap index and last (out of 160 countries) on UNDP’s gender equality index (0.834). According to the Global Gender Gap Report, enrolment rates for girls in primary and secondary schools is far lower than that of boys, and women’s labour force participation is only a third of that of men—women represent less than 2.5% of the Yemeni workforce.
The Yemen Coast Guard still operates in three zones (Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea, and Red Sea) and is responsible for port security, protection of marine life, safety of life at sea, and deterring illegal activity. However, due to a lack of human resources, financing, and skills the Coast Guard is struggling, and rebuilding their capabilities is a sequential endeavor if members are to maintain neutrality in the face of ongoing conflict. Although Joint Programme stakeholders cannot address all issues through targeted initiatives, they hope to provide the Yemeni Coast Guard with an operational foundation and library of measures that can progressively be built on and expanded in the future.
Strategic framework and theory of change
Joint programme stakeholders aim to re-establish the Yemen Coast Guard and make moderate gains towards improved port, maritime, and regional security. Outcomes are to enhance maritime and port security in Yemen to prevent further deterioration in stability and promote the flow of aid and trade, countering maritime crime and protecting the freedom of navigation off the coast, and supporting plans and processes that strengthen Yemen maritime law enforcement.
Programme action supports maritime law enforcement agencies (Coast Guard and Port security agencies) and the criminal justice chain to improve investigation and prosecution measures that lead to heightened maritime and port security in Yemen. Furthermore, building on the capacity of national rule of law institutions to play a greater role in maritime and port security services will empower the Yemen Coast Guard and national authorities to implement maritime law and port security policy under a functional rule of law framework—and in a professional, sustainable and reliable manner.
Partners anticipate such measures cab build capacities in successive layers of governance and generate new funding commitments in due course. Cross-cutting issues are addressed under the programmatic framework with rights-based approaches and equity policies integrated into programme plans; alongside the addition of a gender perspective plan to ensure (to the maximum extent possible) there is equal gender representation amongst partners during programme implementation. To see to it that the programme engages local communities directly, efforts are made to ensure that interactions are carried out on a gender equality basis with trainings and mentorships when and where possible.
> $55M 
$55M - $25M
$25M - $5M
< $5M
