Annexes
contractors,
and
military
leaders,
the
interests
of
all
of
which
may
be
at
odds
with
those
of
the
tribe
they
ought
to
represent.
For
more
complex
cases,
Sheikhs
also
seek
technical
advice
from
judges
and
National
Water
Resources
Authorities.
Only
a
small
percentage
of
conflicts,
which
Sheikhs
fail
to
resolve
and
which
sometimes
lead
to
violent
clashes,
end
up
in
court.
It
is
estimated
by
the
Vice-‐President
of
the
Supreme
Court
of
Appeals
that
2500
people
are
killed
yearly,
due
to
water-‐related
conflicts.
As
these
cases
appear
before
the
court,
criminal
law
is
applied
rather
than
Water
Law,
given
the
serious
implications.
Hence,
the
water
issue
itself
is
not
being
addressed
in
court,
but
only
the
consequent
criminal
offence.
It
also
means
that
many
criminal
cases
in
Yemen
are
water-‐related
but
not
officially
labeled
as
such.
While
international
donors
contribute
to
reducing
the
number
of
water
conflicts,
they
can
also
be
part
of
the
problem,
particularly
when
their
intervention
comes
from
the
top
down.
To
avoid
undesirable
side
effects
of
donor
activities,
equitable
distribution
of
water
should
be
a
component
in
relevant
donor-‐funded
projects
in
order
to
win
the
support
of
and
benefit
local
stakeholders.
Moreover,
conditions
could
be
attached
to
awards
to
ensure
local
authorities’
compliance
with
the
laws
and
the
involvement
of
judiciary
and
security
authorities
in
law
enforcement.
Additionally,
due
to
the
general
distrust
in
politicians
in
Yemen,
more
direct
engagement
by
donors
with
local
communities
may
be
one
way
to
achieve
higher
accountability
and
more
effective
use
of
the
funds.
Finally,
donors
acting
as
supervisors
of
community-‐level
dispute
resolution
processes,
may
enhance
the
perceived
impartiality
of
the
process.
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