Relationship dossier
Eritrea
Yemen
Relationship assessment
A Red Sea island dispute led to armed conflict and was later addressed through international arbitration.
Eritrea toward Yemen
-20Eritrea's seizure of Greater Hanish in 1995 brought it into armed conflict with Yemen. Eritrea later joined Yemen in submitting the islands dispute to international arbitration.
Yemen toward Eritrea
-15Yemen contested Eritrea's control of the Hanish Islands, engaged in the 1995 armed confrontation, and pursued resolution through international arbitration.
Overall relationship
-10The enduring relationship has been marked by a serious territorial and maritime dispute, including armed confrontation, followed by arbitration that awarded most of the disputed islands to Yemen and addressed maritime boundaries and fishing rights. The settlement reduced the central source of conflict, but the scope of later cooperation is unclear.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Relations have been shaped chiefly by the Hanish Islands dispute in the Red Sea. Eritrea's 1995 seizure of Greater Hanish led to armed conflict with Yemen; the two governments later submitted the dispute to international arbitration, which awarded most of the islands to Yemen and addressed maritime boundaries and fishing rights. The confrontation was resolved through legal proceedings, though the breadth of subsequent bilateral cooperation is unclear.
Areas of tension
- Sovereignty over the Hanish Islands
- Red Sea maritime boundaries and fishing rights
Key developments
Eritrea seized Greater Hanish, leading to armed conflict with Yemen.
Eritrea and Yemen submitted the Hanish Islands dispute to international arbitration, which awarded most of the islands to Yemen and addressed maritime boundaries and fishing rights.
Major uncertainties
- The extent of implementation of the arbitration's maritime and fishing provisions is unclear.
- Details of subsequent bilateral government cooperation are limited.