Continuous crimes… The Houthis destroy the innocence of childhood in Yemen
The Houthi terrorist militia continues to flagrantly violate children’s rights in Yemen, unresponsive to international efforts and attitudes, and the tragedies of children have been on the rise for nine consecutive years since the 2014 coup.
The Huthi militia continues to commit crimes against them and its ongoing violations, as these crimes have shown that many international organizations have often failed to defend the rights of Yemeni children, who suffer the most from psychological and physical harm and lack of healthcare.
Childhood crimes in Yemen
Western reports indicate that the Yemeni government is attempting to force children into behavior at the heart of its vision and methods and is constantly seeking to brutally violate children’s rights, use them in armed conflict and throw them into death squares, wars and terrorist acts.
In addition to sending thousands of children to the battlefield and military, extremist recruitment and mobilization centers have been opened for more than 700,000 children, indoctrinated by terrorist extremist ideas. Militias have also changed the curricula in areas under their control, imbuing them with extremist and racist ideas and the language of hatred and sanctity of violence.
A war against children has left nearly 6,000 disabled children
According to HRW, 8,218 Yemeni children have been killed and injured since the start of the country’s war, and these crimes demonstrate the UN’s failure to defend the rights of Yemeni children, who suffer the most from psychological and physical harm and lack of healthcare.
A total of 5,559 children have been physically disabled as a result of the war, and the actual number is expected to be much higher, the organization said, adding that from January to May last year, coalition cluster bombs killed and injured 182 children.
Poverty rates are estimated to have risen to around 80% and more than eight out of ten children live with families without sufficient income to meet their basic needs, with 12.6 million children in need of humanitarian assistance or protection.
“Malnutrition rates, which have increased from 3.6 million to 6 million people in the past two years, have increased by 66%,” MSF said, noting that nearly 60 out of every 1,000 newborns die from war, siege and a shortage of incubators.
145 abductions and 88 rapes of children in Yemen as a result of the war; Gender-based violence against children increased by 63%.
Houthi Uses Iranian Tactics in Dealing with Children
Political and human rights researcher Mohammed Jumaih says: The Houthi terrorist militia uses all means to strengthen its military capabilities in the same way as the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and it also manages child recruitment in Yemen.
He added that children are sent to the front lines after being filled with superstitions, and there is evidence of gangs in schools that distribute pills and types of drugs that lead children to be dependent on them without any awareness or thinking.
Houthi, like other terrorist organizations such as ISIS and al-Qaeda, relies on the recruitment of children and adolescents because he struggles to recruit and persuade adults, he said, adding that al-Houthi has been able to recruit thousands, possibly tens of thousands, of children during the past eight years of war.
