100 Yemeni organizations impose sanctions on Houthi militias
More than 100 organizations in Yemen and the West have called on the European Parliament to impose sanctions on Houthi militias and ensure that their leaders are not unpunished for their systematic crimes against civilians.
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In a joint statement to the Presidency of the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers of the European Union, the organizations said: “The Houthi militia’s crimes against the Yemeni people varied from murder, torture, kidnapping, arbitrary arrest, enforced disappearance, recruitment of children, siege of cities, blowing up homes and planting landmines of all types, land and sea”.
The statement pointed out that the Houthi militias have adopted a starvation policy, which consists in stealing the salaries of employees and humanitarian aid and selling them on the black market, in addition to preventing humanitarian aid from reaching those who deserve it, which has been documented by international organizations.
The statement said that the coup militias had turned Sanaa International Airport into a military barracks to shell civilian installations and receive Iranian weapons, in violation of Resolution 2216.
The statement revealed that Houthi militias have forcibly recruited more than 30,000 children since 2014, and used schools and educational facilities as training camps for minors.
The statement highlighted the Houthis’ use of “an educational system that incites violence”, in addition to the death sentences, noting that in September, they executed nine civilians, including a minor.
The statement pointed to the crimes and violations committed by the Houthi militias against women, which have reached the level of killing, physical assault, kidnapping, and sexual violence. It clarified that the number of women in prisons belonging to the Houthi militias is more than 1,800, including civil society activists.
“Human rights organizations have noted that Houthi militias are deliberately widening the gap of human suffering, threatening the security and safety of civilians and displaced persons, including women, children and the elderly, and continuing to plant mines and use displaced persons as human shields”.
Signatories to the statement include: The World Council for Public Diplomacy and Community Dialog, the European Association for the Defense of Minorities, the Yemeni-Dutch Center for Rights and Freedoms, the Peace and Humanity Initiative, the Peace Foundation for Humanitarian Relief, 8 March Yemen Women’s Union, Al-Jawf Organization for Rights and Freedoms, the Coordinating Council for Civil Society and Human Rights Organizations and the European Union for Freedom of Belief.
