New International Condemnation of Houthi Crimes… Details
The Houthi militias carry out a wide range of violations of international law and human rights, and commit almost daily crimes against Yemenis and the international community.
The report of international experts on Yemen submitted to the UN Security Council showed that the Houthis continue to carry out indiscriminate attacks on civilians, civilian objects and neighboring states, in clear violation of international humanitarian law, as well as continuing indoctrination, recruitment and military training of children in summer camps, as well as arbitrary detention, torture and enforced disappearance of civilians.
The report confirmed that violations of the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict continue to occur, despite the signing of an action plan by the Houthis with the United Nations on April 18, 2022; to, inter alia, end and prevent the recruitment and use of children in their forces.
The investigation showed that community-level Houthi supervisors recruit children, mostly in the 13-17 age group, through coercion, threatening parents and teachers, offering material inducements and promises to children, and enrolling them in cultural and religious courses based on Houthi ideology.
The Group gathered information and evidence that Huthi terrorist militias recruited approximately 1,200 children between 1 July 2021 and 31 August 2022.
The Panel has investigated reports that the Huthis in Sana’a, Hodeidah, Bayda and elsewhere have continued to arbitrarily detain thousands of civilians, mostly in secret places of detention, and are subjected to ill-treatment, violence (including sexual violence), torture and other degrading and inhumane treatment or punishment, in violation of basic human rights.
The team interviewed 12 victims and described in detail the inhuman and degrading treatment and torture they had been subjected to in Houthi prisons, the report said. Among them was a young woman who spent more than 17 months in various Houthi-run detention facilities, and two journalists reported that the Houthis had tortured them for their work and political affiliation.
In its report, the Panel confirmed that it had received information from local rights defenders and organizations that had documented cases of abduction, arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance of civilians at the hands of the Houthis.
The report of the Panel of Experts confirmed that humanitarian actors face a number of obstacles in the delivery and distribution of humanitarian assistance to populations in dire need of assistance.
The main obstacles were violence against humanitarian personnel and assets, restrictions on the movement of humanitarian personnel and operations, and the obstruction of humanitarian activities.
The report stated that landmines and unexploded ordnance restricted access to a number of frontline areas, where millions of people need assistance, noting that the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported 673 incidents in 103 districts in 19 Yemeni governorates, and access was affected in the period from July to September 2022, which is a significant increase compared to the previous quarter, and affected 5.8 million people.
