Recalibration of the Sustainable Development Agenda : Insights from the Conflict in Yemen

Fragility and conflict are responsible for eighty percent of humanitarian need assistance. Many countries amidst conflict and violence have seen erosion to development gains made before and during the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Against this distressing reality, we propose a working framework for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – in fragile and conflict-affected states (FCAS) – by illustrating the case of Yemen. United Nations agencies continue to make the inflexible claim that the implementation of the SDG Agenda should be guided by the principles of indivisibility and universality. The principle of indivisibility demands that the Goals be implemented in a holistic, non-selective manner, while the principle of universality demands that they be implemented in full. This article demonstrates why the demands of indivisibility and universality fall short as a guide for SDG implementation in Yemen and in other FCAS. It then proposes a working framework that steps away from the principle of indivisibility to prioritize Goals that directly address the causes of, or conditions contributing to, fragility and conflict. This working framework also parts ways with the principle of universality by acknowledging that resource constraints and a lack of institutional capacity can deter a country from implementing the Goals in full. Violent conflict in Yemen has eroded all development gains that the country made over the last two decades, and has severely weakened its capacity to implement the SDG Agenda. We argue that achieving peace, justice and good governance through SDG 16 is a cross-cutting requirement and first-order priority for overall SDG success in Yemen, because it is crucial to making lasting progress towards the realization of the other Goals