Crimes against humanity committed by Houthis in 2022 – Details

The Houthi militia continues its crimes and terrorism to target peaceful citizens in Yemen in order to achieve their goals and expansionist plans to destroy and ruin Yemen. The Houthi militia’s name has been linked to killing, begging, torture, bombings and other crimes against humanity.

Major violations

A human rights report revealed Houthi crimes during 2022 and the beginning of their appearance and their doctrines, and the sectors that Houthi militias targeted and destroyed, such as the health, education, water, religious belief, and women’s and children’s rights. It also revealed a number of cases that were monitored, and a variety of cases of killing, kidnapping, torture, displacement, and others that were monitored throughout 2022.

The report, which was issued by the Dialog Forum for Development and Human Rights, said that the violations committed by the Houthi militias against the Yemeni people have left a lot of suffering and wounds as a result of these violations and abuses. The militias have been repeating and multiplying them, and have started many crimes against the Yemeni society.

Over 5,119 Houthi violations of health facilities, hospitals and health workers were recorded in various parts of Yemen between 2018 and March 2022, the report said.

The report indicated that the Houthi movement aims to restore the imamate system, seeks to separate North and South Yemen, does not believe in a unified Yemen, and seeks to build a parallel army in order to implement their plan. It pointed out that the violations carried out by the Houthi militias in various sectors such as the health sector, freedom of religion and belief, violation of the right of citizens to education, violation of water networks and factories affected the citizen’s right to water, killings, and other violations that affected human life and affected their rights, which are the rights stipulated in international conventions and conventions on human rights.

The report recommended that the Houthis be held accountable before international criminal courts for their crimes against humanity, especially Houthi leaders who worked to destroy state institutions, and that the international community act to impose binding international resolutions on the Houthis.

International community

Saeed Abdul Hafiz, president of the Forum for Dialog, said the international community must intervene to provide more protection for the most vulnerable groups in Yemeni society, including women, children and the elderly, who are the most vulnerable to violations committed by Houthi militias.

He said that it is imperative to impose strict sanctions from the Security Council if the Houthi militias refuse to implement the resolutions imposed on them, monitor arms transfers to Yemen, issue resolutions prohibiting heavy and medium weapons, deter anyone who does not, and impose sanctions on countries that support the Houthi movement and supply them with weapons in order to continue the fighting.”

He stressed the importance of pursuing transitional justice mechanisms in Yemeni society in order to establish peace and security and a democratic society, and establishing fact-finding committees to report and monitor Houthi violations in Yemen in order to establish deterrent punishment against them.

Critical situations

Ahmed Jabbari, a Yemeni political and human rights analyst, said a decisive confrontation is needed against the Houthi group, and ways to protect vulnerable groups such as women, children and the elderly, as well as civilians, who are the most vulnerable group due to the continued violations by terrorist groups. He said there is a negative stance on the part of the international community that has led to an increase in their violations of all human rights .

“The Houthis have committed a series of violations amounting to war crimes in violation of international law, local laws and international agreements and treaties,” he said, noting that these crimes ranged from murder, torture, kidnapping, arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance, to planting landmines of various types on land and at sea.