Training and Education for Human Rights at Mwatana-Yemen
Mwatana for Human RightsT

he birth of the Republic of Yemen in 1990 led to the establishment of a constitution articulating the importance of democracy, political pluralism, freedom of the press, and the emergenceof civil society organizations and unions. The government however became
authoritarian and tried to control this emerging field by limiting activities
and impact to prevent creating a “formal” democratic experience. Despite
these repressive measures, many of the structures remained and the voicesof organizations continued struggling to expand freedoms and defend democracy and human rights under an undemocratic Yemeni regime.
Sixteen years after the birth of the Republic of Yemen, the 2006 presidential election was held. This election was one of the most important
landmarks in the emerging Yemeni democracy. During this time, two experienced human rights defenders, Abdulrasheed Al-Faqih and Radhya AlMutawakel, met. They agreed to establish a civil rights organization thatwould work to promote human rights and freedom. This organization wasnamed Mwatana for Human Rights (Mwatana).
They tried to register the organization with the government in early2007 but the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor refused to grant the permit due to their past human rights work, which encompassed working torectify human rights violations against the peaceful Southern Movement,
during the Saada wars, and generally of supporting press freedom. In one
attempt to obtain the permit, a government official said,even if you come trying to establish a dancing group, you will
not be given the permit. These are orders from above.
Despite this, they continued their human rights advocacy, eventually
establishing relationships with international organizations such as Human
Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and Open Society Foundation.
Through these experiences, they were exposed to various mechanisms inhuman rights work such as monitoring and documenting violations underinternational humanitarian law and international human rights law.
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Their exposure to these pioneering international human rights strategies reinforced their conviction that Yemen needed a Yemeni human rights
organization that would work with human rights standards and mechanisms. They imagined an organization that enjoyed independence, competence, commitment, and faith towards rights causes, free from professional
and institutional barriers that weakened civil society and reduced its impact. They felt that the organization should work within a victim-centered
framework with staff of both genders handling various cases. It should begoverned by clear policies, procedures, and rules of conduct with a focus onachieving impact in the short, medium and long terms. It should be committed to specialization within clear and strict limits, and avoid confusing
political work with other related fields on one hand, and the human rights
field on the other hand.
They learned about the standards and mechanisms for documenting
human rights violations within the framework of international humanitarian law and international human rights law through their work with various international organizations. They understood the importance of information for any human rights action aiming to protect victims and achieve
justice.
As a result, field investigations subscribing to professional standards
became the base of Mwatana’s efforts in advocacy, accountability, awareness-raising, training and legal support.
During this time, many questions came up. The most prominent question, however, was what new and different human rights work Mwatana
could offer in Yemen. Reaching a final answer to this question required anumber of years and several important events and transformations within
Yemen.
The most prominent of these events was the Arab Spring. In Yemen, theprotests began in early 2011, aiming to overthrow the regime of President
Saleh. The protesters involved in the demonstrations faced widespread human rights violations under conditions of severe political polarization. That
period tested the competence and independence of the existing Yemeni human rights and civil rights organizations and revealed an urgent need for
new human rights, civil rights, and media actors who would maintain theirstance and responsibilities under any circumstances.
In April 2013, Mwatana finally obtained its permit and was able to expand its institutional capacities and intensify its activities. It also adopted

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a Code of Conduct as standard of behavior and ethics for all levels of theorganization to achieve a high level of efficiency and professional work inpromoting and protecting human rights in accordance with internationallaws, customs and standards relevant to the field of human rights work.1
Fieldwork research is the cornerstone of all activities of Mwatana andtheir outcomes are used and reflected in Mwatana’s publications and othermaterials as well as in its lobbying, advocacy, accountability, and legal support work.
Vision, Mission and Objectives
Mwatana adopted the following vision and mission statements:
Our Vision
A society where justice and full access to rights is guaranteed toeveryone.
Our Mission
Mwatana advocates for human rights through the verification anddocumentation of violations, provision of legal support to victims,
lobbying, as well as awareness-raising and capacity-building.
Mwatana aims/strategic goals:• To contribute to the creation of a database on human rights
violations;• To exercise pressure towards ensuring redress for victims of humanrights violations and accountability for violators;• To create an environment of awareness of the culture and principles of human rights;• To build and strengthen the capacities of the most interested andinfluential groups in the field of human rights.
Programs and Activities
Mwatana has been implementing several programs and activities including
the following:• Monitoring and Documentation: Mwatana undertakes field visits
and research on incidents of human rights violations, takes the

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•

•

•

•

•

•

testimonies of witnesses, scrutinizes and studies the pieces of evidence in accordance with local and international laws. The datacollected is then used in the production of statements, reports, letters or short films that include summaries, recommendations, anddemands;
Studies and Research: Mwatana conducts research studies regarding human rights issues that aim to obtain a clear understandingof the research subjects in order to diagnose the issue and findsolutions;
Legal Support: Mwatana provides legal assistance to the victims ofhuman rights violations in their cases before the relevant courts,
public prosecution offices and other law enforcement agencies bydeploying professional and qualified lawyers;
Accountability and Redress: Mwatana seeks opportunities for international criminal accountability for all violators under international criminal law in order to provide redress for the victims.
Mwatana keeps track of precedents in various countries and international mechanisms and files complaints where appropriate. In
collaboration with other international organizations, Mwatana has
filed a criminal complaint, submitted a communication with the
Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, andfiled a legal intervention;
Advocacy and Lobbying: Mwatana lobbies relevant competent authorities through a specialized panel for advocacy to consider, accept and implement the recommendations and demands made in
the studies and researches it conducted;
Awareness-raising: Mwatana strives to raise awareness amongpeople regarding their rights through different awareness-raising
activities using modern tools that include films, the effective use ofsocial media, brochures, and booklets. Such work is done to best
serve the causes Mwatana works on;
Training and capacity-building: Mwatana works on training qualified human rights workers and equip them with the necessary
skills in order to work on human rights issues objectively and more
effectively.

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Mwatana has this core belief and mandate: “Accurate informationis power.” This led it down the path of documentation and field research.
Mwatana researchers conduct in-depth investigative fieldwork across all
Yemeni governorates to uncover human rights violations, raise victims’
voices, and build a Yemeni human rights database as basis for accountability
and redress.
Work Units
Mwatana carries out fieldwork through its Research and Studies andLegal Support units. It has several other units namely, Accountability andRedress, Media and Communications, Advocacy, Projects and Programs
Management, Evaluation, Monitoring and Learning Management, FinanceManagement, Human Resources and Operations Management, and Dataand Information Management. Mwatana is also working on establishing
an eleventh unit: a training unit that will eventually become the nucleus of
Mwatana Academy.
The results of the investigative research are subject to several rounds ofreview and scrutiny by specialists and experts. Mwatana uses the researchdata to produce reports, studies, statements, blogs, letters, and humanrights documentaries.
Mwatana has been recognized for the accuracy of information in its
documentation of human rights violations. Many international platforms,
including the United Nations Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism(MRM) on six grave violations against children in armed conflict, the United
Nations Group of Eminent Experts formed by the Human Rights Council,
and various international media outlets have used the reports of Mwatana.
Publications
Mwatana produces a number of materials: press statements, reports, studies, articles, blogs and videos.2
Mwatana published more than one hundred human rights press releases
addressing events that occurred during the war and its aftermath in Yemen.
In 2023, Mwatana published two important reports, namely, False
Exonerations (November 2023) and Transit in Hell (December 2023).

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In False Exonerations, Mwatana rigorously examined the conclusions
and findings adopted by the Joint Incidents Assessment Team (jiat) regarding the Saudi/uae-led Coalition’s attacks including seventy-nine airstrikes.3
The report scrutinized the Coalition’s adherence to international humanitarian law in its airstrikes and identified the civilian damages caused. Itchallenged the accuracy, credibility, and reliability of the conclusions andfindings published by jiat. It questioned jiat’s methodology and field investigation, even if they met minimal investigation standards. Based on documentation of its independent field researchers trained in accordance withthe best international standards, Mwatana concluded that the Coalition’s
attacks on civilians and civilian objects must be regarded by the Coalition as
violations of international humanitarian law. The Coalition should also takeaction to redress the victims and hold those responsible accountable.
Transit in Hell is a review and discussion of the horrific violations targeting African migrants during their journey across Yemeni territory.4 This
report highlights the violations faced by African migrants in Yemen by shedding light on the abuses and those responsible for them, and conveying atrue picture of the suffering experienced by this vulnerable group. African
migrants are one of the most fragile and marginalized sectors of Yemeni society, lacking the means to express their suffering and being exposed to various violations. This reality makes them a forgotten community, with theirsuffering often invisible to many. In other words, this report represents anattempt to convey the voices of migrants, expose their tragedies, and uncover
the violations committed against them by the conflicting parties. It not only
presents findings on these issues, but also discusses ways to alleviate theirsuffering and contribute to solving their problems and holding violators accountable through a series of recommendations. Mwatana documented all
violations regardless of the perpetrator. In the report, Mwatana documented one hundred twelve incidents involving violations perpetrated against
African migrants by the parties to the conflict in Yemen as well as abusesby human trafficking and smuggling gangs. These documented incidents include thirty-two incidents committed by the Ansar Allah (Houthis) armed
group, forty incidents committed by Saudi/jiat-led coalition forces including thirty-six incidents committed by Saudi border guards, ten incidents bySouthern Transitional Council (stc) forces in their various formations, andsix incidents committed by forces of the internationally recognized govern-

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ment. Human trafficking and smuggling gangs operating in areas controlled
by different conflict parties bear responsibility for twenty-four incidents.
Mwatana and partners issue different reports.5 They also issue somestudies such as the following:• Dynamics of Repression and Challenges, 2023
• Study on the Situation of Detention Centers in Yemen, 2019
• War of Ignorance - A field study of the impacts of armed conflict onaccess to education in Yemen, 2020-2021• Courts for Abuse - A Case Study of Yemen’s Specialized Criminal
Courts, 2015 - 2020
• Fragile Walls - A study of domestic violence against women during
the war in Yemen - 2014-2021• Colored Coffins - recruitment and use of children soldiers in thearmed conflict in Yemen - 2013-2018.
Videos
Mwatana produces videos to highlight patterns of violations. The
videos include documentary films, awareness films, interviews
with Mwatana team, and visual content that highlight its work.5
Human Rights Education
Mwatana has for several years been building a professional team that works
in accordance with high international standards in the field of human rights.
Therefore, another important component of Mwatana’s work is to build acommunity of effective human rights professionals.
Mwatana designed its courses and work environment as open workshops that have helped dozens of young women and men hone their knowledge and skills. The courses necessarily constitute a qualitative source ofknowledge and skills for human rights work in the future, both within andoutside Mwatana.
Mwatana promotes awareness of human rights values and issues to help
create a culture of human rights (that includes opposing their violations)through positive communication with the public on various social media
platforms. It engages continuously in constructive discussions with actors
who influence the human rights situation in Yemen through available ad-

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vocacy and pressure mechanisms (local and international). Furthermore, it
creates strong partnership and cooperation with various parties and institutions that adhere to high professional and objective standards in order
to convey the voices of victims of human rights violations in Yemen to active and influential parties. It also works to enhance its communication withthe public by various means, and welcomes suggestions, observations, andquestions with openness and positivity.
Mwatana aspires to create a generation of professional workers committed to the highest standards of human rights work. Therefore, it builds
the capacities of its workers as well as those of other organizations throughquality and specialized trainings. Mwatana’s workers receive periodic training on the foundations and standards of research and investigation, legal
support, advocacy, communication, accountability, and redress. The training includes the latest tools for documenting human rights violations; andperiodic review, evaluation and verification of documentation mechanisms
to ensure quality work, accuracy, adherence to the highest professional andobjective standards, and effectiveness in achieving the desired impact.
Capacity-building and Trainings
Mwatana seeks to educate and raise the awareness of people in the tribal
societies of Yemen on their rights and how to defend those rights despite
the lack of formal education system and implementation of national laws in
the areas of tribal societies.
Due to this important concern, Mwatana made significant impact during the previous years, including building the capacity of local activists indefending human rights, raising and conveying victims’ voices and messages
to proper authorities, and documenting human rights violations in order tohold the violators accountable and seek justice for victims.
The main work of Mwatana depends on investigative field researchdone by its well-trained and qualified teams. The members of these teams
had undergone different training sessions by specialized experts from
Mwatana as well as by other local and international specialists. As a result of
the experience gained over the years, Mwatana always responds positively
to changes in the work environment and strives to enhance its capability andeffectiveness.

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Mwatana’s teams provide workshops at the national and international
levels. These workshops contribute to the development of Mwatana’s technical and administrative work and are reflected on the skills of members of
the teams.
Mwatana also holds workshops and awareness sessions for large anddiverse sectors of society, including university graduates, journalists, media
figures, lawyers, human rights researchers, workers in civil institutions andorganizations, judges, professors in universities and schools, as well as community activists.
Training workshops
Mwatana has provided training to different sets of people it works with including its own staff (consisting of those in the central office [central team],field lawyers, field researchers/data collectors/field monitors), trainees,
members of community committees, NGO activists and representatives,and government officials.
The following section presents the training activities held from 2019 to2023 for different groups.
a. Members of the central team of Mwatana
Mwatana held workshops on–– Provision of legal support services with more focus on developing
mechanisms for documentation and follow-up (September 2019, fiveday workshop for ten participants);–– Modes of liability, legal analysis and the required level of evidence
for criminal litigation, international criminal law chapeau and elements of crime, and practical challenges on using evidence in Yemen(September 2021);–– Developing documentation forms for new patterns of violations,transferring the experience gained from the training and other courses
to the rest of the central team, and working on solutions to gaps on fieldwork (February 2021, twelve members of the central team);–– Interpersonal and business communication skills (November 2022,
twenty central team members);

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Workshop on strategic planning , August 2022.

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85–– Practical guide to strategic planning in preparation for the development of a strategic plan of Mwatana (August 2022, twenty-five central
team members);–– Research methods in the social sciences and humanities, trainees’
skills in the field of research (October 2022, twenty-eight central teammembers);–– Digital data security (October 2022, four members of Information
Technology and Data Management team);–– How to analyze war crimes and crimes against humanity, framework for gathering evidence of international crimes (focus on unlawful attacks), individual criminal responsibility (focus on chain of command) (May 2022, ten central team members);–– Documentation for accountability purposes and building files(March 2023, five-day online training workshop for the Legal Support
and the Accountability Units).
b. Field lawyers
Mwatana held workshops on–– Legislations of Yemen, and concepts and case studies of arbitrary
detention, torture, forced disappearance, and extrajudicial killing(October 2019, twenty field lawyers based in fifteen governorates);–– Skills on extraction of information consisting of interview andpreparation of documentation reports. It also focused on expanding thefield of lawyers’ skills by covering the basic requirements of advocacy
and accountability work (October 2020, seventeen field lawyers basedin fifteen governorates);–– Enhancing the field lawyers’ knowledge on the tools for scientific research and collecting data. The sessions were assisted by icrc and law-

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Workshop on tools of scientific research and data collection, October 2021.

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87yers who had long experience in providing legal support. (October 2021,
five-day training workshop for eighteen field legal support assistants).

Workshop on reviewing the performance of the legal support field team, October 2022.

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Workshop on reviewing the performance of the legal support field team, October 2022.

–– Reviewing the performance of the legal support field team
(October 2022, seventeen field legal support assistants from different
governorates).
c. Field researchers/data collectors/field monitors
Mwatana held workshops on–– Skills on different topics including international accountability mechanisms, and impartial and independent international mechanisms (September 2019, twenty-seven field monitors from different
governorates);–– Use of open online sources for investigation purposes, how to monitor and deal with sexual and gender-based violence (sgbv) cases, andthe concept of genocide and war crime (September 2020, twenty-sevenfield monitors);

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Workshop on difficulties and challenges faced by field monitors, January 2020.

–– Identifying the difficulties and challenges faced by field monitors,
guidance on how to solve them, sharing among field monitors of theirown experiences, and enhancing their monitoring skills on certain patterns of violations. (January 2020, twenty-seven field monitors);

Workshop on methodology on data collection, June 2022.

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Workshop on methodology on data collection, June 2022.

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91–– Different topics related to human rights violations and new investigation tools with practical exercises on what they had learned (March
2021, twenty-four field monitors);

Workshop on accountability mechanisms and the International Criminal Court (ICC), March 2022.

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Workshop on accountability mechanisms and the International Criminal Court (ICC), March 2022.

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93–– Methodology on data collection, sampling of target groups for civic
space study, and how to conduct successful interview. (June 2022, thirteen data collectors from different Yemeni governorates);

Workshop on understanding the situation in the field, March 2022.

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Workshop on understanding the situation in the field, March 2022.

–– Various topics such as aspects of accountability mechanisms andthe International Criminal Court (icc) (March 2022, twenty-four fieldresearchers from different Yemeni governorates);

Workshop on human rights principles, November 2021.

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Workshop on human rights principles, November 2021.

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Workshop for data collectors, February 2023.

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Workshop for data collectors, February 2023.

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d. Community committees
Mwatana held workshops on–– Human rights principles (November 2021, sixteen male and female
community members from different areas and governorates);–– Twenty-four data collectors in two training workshops under aunicef project (first group on 12 – 14 February 2023, and the second
group on 19 – 21 February 2023).
e. Awareness sessions for trainees
Mwatana held training workshops and awareness sessions for trainees fromthe civil society. The sessions were held as part of different projects:

Workshop on monitoring and reporting documentation 1, January 2023.

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Workshop on monitoring and reporting documentation 1, January 2023.

–– Workshop on human rights work and principles consisting of four
sessions with twenty-two trainees in each session for a total of eightyeight participants from all governorates including lawyers, activists, engineers, teachers, and journalists held on 22, 23, 28, 29 November 2023;

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Workshop on monitoring and reporting documentation 2, February 2023.

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Workshop on monitoring and reporting documentation 2, February 2023.

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Workshop on monitoring and reporting documentation 2, February 2023.

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103–– Human Rights Capacity-Building Programme (huricap) project,
Monitoring and Reporting Documentation 1 on the draft guide formonitoring and documenting human rights violations for sixteen maleand female trainees from Sana’a held on 22-26 January 2023.
–– Human Rights Capacity-Building Programme (huricap) project, Monitoring and Reporting Documentation 2 on a draft guide formonitoring and documenting human rights violations, for fifteen maleand female trainees from several governorates held on 19 – 23 February2023;–– German Embassy project on United Nations mechanisms for eleven male and female trainees from areas under the control of the Ansar
Allah-Houthi held on 18 – 22 June 2023;

Workshop on German Embassy project, September 2023.

–– European Union project on monitoring and documenting andUnited Nations mechanisms for twelve male and female trainees fromseveral governorates held on 6-10 August 2023;–– German Embassy project in cooperation with Pass Foundation for
twelve male and female trainees from areas under the control of the internationally recognized Yemeni government (Aden, 10-14 September2023);
f. Activists and representatives of civil society organizations (csos)/ community activists from different non-governmental organizations (ngos)
Mwatana held workshops on

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Workshop for activists and representatives of civil society organizations.

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Workshop for activists and representatives of civil society organizations.

–– Basic information about human rights, monitoring and reporting mechanism, skills on investigative research work (March 2019,
twenty-four community activists from different ngos from fifteen
governorates).
–– Monitoring human rights violations, monitoring and reporting
mechanism and detailed documentation forms (July 2019);–– Starvation as a war tool, types of evidence used to monitor this phenomenon, basic verification criteria, and other related topics (February
2020, several activists and representatives of csos);–– Basic human rights (16-17 September 2023 for twelve male andfemale trainees from areas under the control of the internationally

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recognized Yemeni government). This workshop was held in Aden
Governorate under the German Embassy and the European Union
projects.
g.

Government officials
Mwatana held a training workshop to develop the capabilities and skillsof members of a team, sixteen male and female officers, in the Ministry of
Human Rights in Sana’a governorate (13-16 August 2023).
Public events
At the end of each year, Mwatana organizes an online event as part of its
annual briefing on various violations committed by all parties to the conflictthat have been documented by Mwatana field team during the year.
As part of the annual briefing, the documented violations are disseminated to all audiences including activists, journalists, those interested in thehuman rights and humanitarian situation, and to the parties to the conflict.
This annual briefing has continued till the present and is followed by anannual report for each year.
Annual briefings held over the last three years:• Continued Violations During 20236• A Dark Year Despite the Truce, 20227• A New Year Added to the Age of Bloody Conflict, 2021.
Annual reports issued during the last five years:• Continued Violations During, 20238• Tragedy Until Further Notice, 20229• A Country Falling Apart, 202110• A Tragedy Without Justice, 202011• Without Accountability, 201912• Withering Life, 2018.13
Also, Mwatana holds periodic online forums with experts and specialists in international law and human rights law from Yemen and other countries, discussing important issues related to the field of human rights work.
These forums are meant to raise the human rights awareness of the public.

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Training and Capacity-building Unit
The Training and Capacity-building Unit of Mwatana is a new unit thatstarted to operate in 2023. This training unit cooperated with the Researchand Study Unit in preparing a research and documentation manual/guideline on the process of doing research and documentation.
The training program of this unit covers the first receipt of initial information, and the process of monitoring, verifying, documenting, gathering interviews and evidences at the field level. It includes the explanation of
the main process of information verification and all the methods used for
confirmation of information till their use in human rights statements andreports, etc.
This training unit is cooperating with an external consultant in developing an internal manual on the work processes of the Legal Support Unit at
Mwatana.
Future Activities
Early this year (2024), the Training and Capacity-building Unit held its annual comprehensive meeting for all members of the field teams (researchersof the Research and Studies Unit and lawyers of the Legal Support Unit) andthe central team to discuss the previous year’s work and the current year’s
work on all projects.
In March 2024, the Training and Capacity Building Unit at Mwatana
held meetings with an external consultant to prepare a technical manual
for the Legal Support Unit for the coming training sessions. The training
unit will be organizing more training activities within the current projects,
including training for the field support team on providing legal support tovictims of human rights violations, five awareness-raising sessions for several groups in local communities, a capacity-building training workshop forcsos and human rights defenders, and a six-month fellowship program fortwo members of csos.
Within the current plan of the Training and Capacity Building Unit,
Mwatana seeks to build capabilities in the field of human rights through alonger and more complete program consisting of a series of online courses
on human rights knowledge and practical fieldwork. This will consolidate
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building a generation of qualified human rights defenders in various regionsof Yemen. A series of online courses will cover international humanitarianlaw, monitoring and documentation basics, the six grave violations againstchildren in armed conflict, basics of advocacy, and writing humanitarianstories.
Endnotes
1 For more information on the Code of Conduct, please visit this page: www.
mwatana.org/en/about/code-of-conduct.
2 Some of the publications include:
Reports:•“Returned to Zero”: The Case for Reparations to Civilians in Yemen, June
2022•
Civilians with disabilities caused by the armed conflict in Yemen, February
2022•
Arms sales: France and the United Arab Emirates, partners in the crimes
committed in Yemen?, December 2021•
A Tragedy Without Justice - Human Rights in Yemen in 2020•
Without Accountability - Human Rights in Yemen in 2020.
Several videos and virtual content produced while working in the field or in thecenter are available on a special section of its website in a special tab (www.mwatana.
org/en/videos?ff1d5310_page=2) and other online platforms:•“Mwatana: Here is the Story” - www.facebook.com/mwatanaen/
videos/457742895698416•“AmputatedLife”
www.youtube.com/
watch?v=TRpMRvqo28c&feature=emb_logo•“Chalk Dust” - www.facebook.com/mwatanaen/videos/1412747022547216•“Indelible
Scars”
www.facebook.com/mwatanaen/
videos/593337088799762.
3 Full report available at www.mwatana.org/reports-en/false-exonerations.
4 Full report available at www.mwatana.org/reports-en/transit-in-hell.
5 The videos are listed at www.mwatana.org/en/videos.
6 See www.mwatana.org/posts-en/continued-violations-during-2023.
7 See www.mwatana.org/posts-en/annualbreif2022.
8 See www.mwatana.org/posts-en/continued-violations-during-2023.
9 See www.mwatana.org/reports-en/Tragedy-until-further-notice.
10 See www.mwatana.org/reports-en/falling-apart-4.
11 See www.mwatana.org/reports-en/a-tragedy-without-justice.
12 See www.mwatana.org/reports-en/without-accountability-6.
13 See www.mwatana.org/reports-en/withering-life2018-0.