Bangladesh, Nov. 8 -- The failure of the 2016 Kuwait negotiations offers a critical lesson: a lasting settlement requires enforceable commitments, verifiable steps and accountability before political concessions are exchanged.

Yemens decade-long conflict has repeatedly demonstrated that bringing warring parties to the negotiating table is far easier than persuading them to make the compromises necessary for peace. The most important lesson emerged in 2016, when Kuwait hosted an ambitious United Nations-backed effort to end the war. Despite months of negotiations and personal intervention by Kuwaits late emir, the talks collapsed over a fundamental disagreement: should the Houthis first withdraw from captured cities and surrender heavy we...