Middle Eastern region presents an unsettling picture of Human Security. Since the dawn of the Cold War the region remains a new theater of unrest, from Civil war to inter-state conflicts prevails a scary security image. According to Global Security Index 2022, the security conditions of the region are terrifying. The worst-performing state includes Yemen, Syria, and Palestine.

The recent growth of a few countries is often shown as a positive picture but that didn’t make the whole Middle East peaceful.

According to estimates, Yemen is projected to have 21 million people that need humanitarian aid and protection by the end of 2023. People are denied their basic rights. Yemen accounted for one of the five nations with the worst rankings for women’s political emancipation, economic involvement, and educational attainment in 2021. Additionally, it came in third-to-last place out of 170 nations in the Global Women Peace and Security Index for 2021–2022. Syria and Palestine depict quite similar pictures. The world community needs to take a stand to ensure human safety and security.

As new events unfold in the region, there is a ray of hope that the deteriorating human security can be restored. A masterstroke by Chinese President Xi Jinping, forging the historic rapprochement between Iran and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, proved to be a fresh breeze in the Middle Eastern region.

The intense war is a result of enduring animosity between Iran and Saudi Arabia, resulting in dilapidated human security. The blame game is used for insurgencies and backing different non-state actors only affects the lives of those living there. Global actors have always fanned animosity between these two Middle Eastern nations by perusing their regional ambitions as a “zero-sum” game. China brokered the deal to start a new wave of debate on how the future relations between the Middle Eastern region will pave out. Immediately, after the announcement of opening embassies, Saudi Arabia divulges, a government initiative to discontinue eight years of long-standing war in Yemen. Saudi proclamation came as fresh air for the people living in all the states involved.

Now is the time and space for global actors to think beyond power games and rather than involving in competition they should rivet on the stability and development in the region. America the leading global power and a close ally of Saudi Arabia should craft its policy that aligns with its peace initiative. The humanitarian aid gap that leaves Yemen’s displaced to fend for themselves, itches for a new turn.

The grim image of humanitarian assistance in 2023, of the $4.3 billion the UN is requesting, donors only pledged $1.2 billion at a conference at the end of February.

WFP curtailed both the volume of food it dispenses and the frequency with which it does so due to the funding crunch.  The words and numbers are scary but the on-ground reality is even scarier. As the new door opens for negotiations and collaboration, we defiantly should not miss this opportunity to revive human security before the region made a graveyard.