Master’s degree for researcher Fawaz Al-Naqqash from the College of Commerce and Economics – Department of Political Science.

Researcher Fawaz Ahmed Muhammad Abdo Al-Naqqash obtained a master’s degree with a general grade of (excellent) at a rate of 95%

from Sana’a University for his thesis entitled “The Role of the United Nations in Settling Armed Conflicts through UN Envoys – Yemen as a Model 2012-2023”,

The discussion and judging committee consisted of Associate Professor Dr. Ashwaq Ahmed Ghlais, Professor of Political Thought, Internal Examiner, Sana’a University, Chairman, Associate Professor Dr. Mansour Aziz Al-Zindani, Professor of International Relations, Main Supervisor, Member, and Professor Dr. Nabil Ali Al-Sharjabi, Professor of Crisis and International Conflict Management, External Examiner, Hodeidah University, Member, on Sunday, 10/Sha’ban/1446 AH corresponding to 9/February/2025 AD

The study aimed to analyze the role of the United Nations in resolving the armed conflict in Yemen and evaluate the effectiveness of its efforts in reaching a comprehensive and sustainable political settlement. The study focuses on the special envoys appointed between 2012 and 2023, and seeks to understand the mediation challenges they faced, as well as to analyze regional and international positions and their political impact on the UN role. The study relied on the descriptive approach in its methodology, which documents facts and events between 2011 and 2023, tracking UN mediation efforts through special envoys. It also adopts the legal approach in analyzing UN resolutions, to understand the rules governing the settlement of disputes. In addition, the study employs the “conflict transformation” approach, which works to transform armed conflicts with the aim of reaching a political solution and comprehensive and sustainable peace.

The study reached several conclusions, most notably the success of the United Nations at the beginning of the crisis in preventing the outbreak of a civil war by signing the Gulf Initiative in 2011. However, it failed to address the factors that hindered the transitional phase, which contributed to the exacerbation of the crisis and its transformation into an armed conflict and military aggression against Yemen, in addition to foreign interventions. The study showed that UN envoys adopted a strategy of fragmenting the solution, which contributed to alleviating the severity of the humanitarian crisis, but failed to address the roots of the conflict and led to the prolongation of the war. It also concluded that the United Nations seeks to present itself as a neutral international mediator, but refrained from holding the countries of the aggression coalition against Yemen clearly responsible for human rights violations, which raised doubts about its transparency and neutrality. The study concluded that regional and international interventions, especially by Saudi Arabia, the Emirates and Iran, increased the complexity of the conflict, and it went beyond being an internal conflict to being part of a broader regional confrontation, thus weakening the ability of the United Nations to play its role as a neutral mediator. The study indicates that the multiplicity of parties and their conflicting interests have greatly contributed to the complexity of political settlement efforts, as each party focused on achieving its own interests, which exacerbated divisions and prolonged the war. The study also indicates that the lack of political will among major countries was a major factor in the failure of international efforts to achieve peace. The study adds that relief efforts were not commensurate with the scale of the humanitarian disaster in Yemen, as they were wasted as a result of mismanagement and the spread of corruption. The study also concluded that the neutrality of the United Nations has become questionable, as it is often a tool for major countries to achieve their interests through indirect means, such as using humanitarian aid and promoting human rights as a cover to achieve political goals.

The committee recommended printing the thesis at the university’s expense and exchanging it with Yemeni, Arab and international universities.

The discussion was attended by a number of academics, researchers and interested parties, as well as a number of colleagues, friends and family of the researcher