The Southern Transitional Council, represented by Mr. Amr Al-Baydh, member of the Presidency of the Southern Transitional Council, representative of the President of the Transitional Council for Foreign Affairs, along with Nabil bin Laasm, Political Officer in the Office of the Special Representative of the President of the Transitional Council for Foreign Affairs, participated in the conference of the European Network of Experts in the Field of Peace Mediation, which Held via the zoom app.

The Southern Transitional Council participated in the sessions of the third conference of the European Network of Experts, which was held on the twenty-sixth and twenty-seventh of October of this year, within the session that discussed the experience of non-state armed groups in political and peace processes in Mali and Yemen.

During his participation in the discussion session, Mr. Amr Al-Baydh explained that the Southern Transitional Council is a key partner in the Saudi-led coalition against the Houthis, praising the importance of the relationship with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the Gulf states in general.

On the initiatives of the second track, Al-Baydh emphasized the positive interaction of the Transitional Council with the initiatives in the previous period, and its willingness to deal with them again in the future, but at the same time he stressed that the council’s participation in the initiatives of the second track does not come at the expense of its participation as a major party in the negotiations of the political process.

At the end of the session, Al- Baydh indicated that the success of the peace process in Yemen is contingent on achieving the goals and aspirations of the people of the south, which they have struggled and are still struggling to achieve them, and they are the guarantor of a political settlement and sustainable peace in the region .

Bin Laasm had pointed out to the participants in the discussion session that UN Resolution 2216 was bilateral between the Houthi group and the Yemeni government, and that after seven years it has become part of the past and has nothing to do with changes on the ground, noting that there is an urgent need to update the resolution based on data and variables that are happening today, adding that the Southern Transitional Council was able to impose its legitimacy on the international arena through the mandate given to it by the people of the south and by confirming its presence in the field, explaining that the international community listens, watches and understands the most political realities in the south.

On the role of women, Bin Laasm reflected the Southern Transitional Council’s interest in empowering southern women politically through their presence at different levels, starting with the structure of the Transitional Council, stressing that there is more work in this field to restore southern women to their prominent role, through which they were strongly present within the southern state.

It is worth noting that the European Network of Experts Conference is held annually, bringing together in its sessions European and international activists, policy makers, mediation practitioners, experts and representatives of the international community from around the world.