In a 2013 report released by the United Nations water insecurity was identified as a national security issue. This is due to the close correlation between mismanagement of water resources and acute conflict. With humanity's available potable water table under increasing stress from pressures like population growth, the effects of climate change and privatization, the potential for conflict to arise becomes more likely. This has been made painfully clear in Yemen, where a complex humanitarian crisis has evolved in recent years, called one of the worst crises of 2018. Disease, famine and conflict have spread rapidly, aggravated and in part induced by the consequences of being one of the most water-stressed countries in the world. This research examines the nature of the Yemeni crisis, particularly the role that water has played in it. It makes the case that in order for civilian casualties to be minimized, access to water must be protected.
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