April 4^th is a day that has seen peace in Yemen draw closer than ever, for the first time in six years, nationwide peace was declared in the country. There appears to be a concrete effort from both sides of the conflict to move towards peace in the region, which is an encouraging sign for the people of Yemen. This truce aligns with the start of Ramadan, the holy period for most people living in that region, and a newly formed Presidential council to replace the country’s president. This truce also comes in light of a two-month attempt to broker peace from the UN and its advocates in Yemen. The benefits of this truce are for the civilians of Yemen because it eases restrictions on the movement of people and goods, which allows for the lives of people to improve. It also opens roads that used to be blocked to improve travel for civilians, and all flights to and from the Sana’a airport will start again. All of these improvements are to the benefit of the civilians and should give the people much hope.

Speaking on this truce, UN Envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, reported to the Security Council that “Since the start of the truce, there has been a significant reduction in violence and civilian casualties & no confirmed airstrikes inside Yemen or cross-border attacks emanating from Yemen.” He goes on to issue a reminder to both sides, saying, “The foundational principle of the truce is that the respite it offers should be used to make progress toward ending the war, not to escalate it.” Although this truce brings hope, UN Humanitarian chief Mr. Griffiths reaffirms the continued need for support in Yemen as “Allowing aid operation to collapse, would run directly counter to the positive momentum we are seeing in the wider efforts to resolve Yemen’s crisis.”

The fact that there is already a decrease in both attacks and civilian casualties is hugely important to the future of the crisis and the hope the people should have. It demonstrates that there is a commitment to end the conflict and stand by the truce because it does not appear as either side is using the truce as an attempt to gain more power. It is also beneficial that the UN continues to fund Yemen during this transition period because funding will hopefully limit the conflict’s chance to reignite because of humanitarian issues like hunger or economic struggle. The UN should be applauded for continuing its efforts in negotiating this peace, but must not rest on this success and must continue to be diligent in ensuring that the people do not become victims of another civil war. This truce should be seen as a humanitarian success for the people because they can now have concrete hope that their days of living in a state of war are over and that whichever government comes into power will hold their interests close to heart.

The UN, international community, and coalition government in Yemen must remain diligent during this transition period to ensure that the state does not fall into war once again. Diligence will be seen through the continued funding and negotiation from the UN and a continued effort to negotiate strong and lasting peace in Yemen by the leaders. So long as each involved party stays true to the mission, providing peace and security to the people of Yemen, then this truce is a strong start to lasting peace in the region. The early signs are extremely positive, and from the perspective of a citizen, there can be hope that this truce will lead to further peace in Yemen. Although the truce remains fragile and fresh, there is no doubt that the people of Yemen should have hope for a better fate for this country with this truce.