In February 2023, the Arab NGO Network for Development (ANND) released a comprehensive regional report on Civic Space in Arab Countries, focusing on the situation in Yemen. The report highlighted several critical indicators of the civic space in the country:

• Impact of Ongoing Conflict (Since 2014): The enduring conflict since 2014 has significantly impinge upon Yemen's civic space and civil society. A 2015 survey revealed that 60% of civil society organisations experienced violence, looting, harassment or had their assets frozen.
• Challenges Faced by Civil Society Organizations: Civil society organisations encountered multifaceted challenges, notably security and safety risks. This included detention, extortion, assault, kidnapping, and attempts to harm employees by armed groups or individuals. Coordinated campaigns aimed at discrediting organisations and activists were launched to undermine their crucial work. Furthermore, restrictions were imposed on freedom of expression and freedom of assembly.
• Militarisation of Civic Space: The conflict led to the militarisation of the civic space, contributing to the fragmentation of civil society.
• Functional Transformation during War Pressure: Amid the pressures of war, civil society underwent a functional transformation, relinquishing its autonomy and becoming indirectly entangled in the structure of the conflict. This adaptation during the war manifested in two distinct forms: positive adaptation and negative adaptation. Positive Adaptation: Involves maintaining a limited distance between civil society institutions and the de facto authority controlling the institution/organisation/union. Negative Adaptation: Entails the transformation into a compliant tool of the de facto authority, operating within the confines of its control over the organisation/institution/union.
• The uncontrolled violence that civil society confronted in the initial days of the conflict marked a significant turning point in civic awareness and practical engagement. The peaceful ethos of 2011, which had been the hallmark of the popular movement in a country where weapons are pervasive, collided with the extensive influence of the tribal system within the broader societal framework. The ensuing violent actions and civil reactions, manifested in a waning belief in the viability of sustained protests given the inevitability of violence, set the stage for the profound transformation that civil work would undergo subsequently.
• Civil society organisations grapple with systematic targeting and constraints imposed by both the authorities in Sanaa and Aden. In these regions, the issuance or rejection of licenses hinges on an organisation’s stance toward the prevailing authority. As a result, licensed organisations are compelled to sacrifice a significant portion of their professionalism and independence.
• In the years 2021-2022, journalists in Yemen experienced unprecedented challenges, with the country ranking among the three most perilous nations globally for the lives of journalists due to the elevated levels of violence directed against them. Two journalists lost their lives in bombings targeting their vehicles, marking the first occurrence of such targeted killings in Yemen.