The Impoverishment of Yemenis as a Houthi Weapon: Human Rights Report Documents Political Starvation
A Yemeni human rights report has warned that the Houthi movement is deliberately impoverishing civilians living in areas under its control as a means of diverting public attention away from demands for political rights.
The report, released on Saturday by the non-governmental organization Deyment for Rights and Development, documented 761 violations committed by Houthi militias across the city of Sanaa and its ten districts within the span of a single year.
According to the report, poverty and hunger in Sanaa have become instruments employed by the Houthis to shift citizens’ focus away from demanding their political rights and instead force them into a relentless struggle to secure their daily livelihood.
The report states that “throughout 2025, the Houthi policy of starvation extended beyond depriving people of food and destroying their means of livelihood. It evolved into a form of political and intellectual starvation based on depriving citizens of personal security, freedom of expression, the sanctity of their homes, and their Yemeni national identity.”
The report also corroborates information that the Houthi militias established a new repressive body in May 2025 known as the “Revolution Security Service,” tasked with carrying out mass preventive arrests, dismantling civic space, and suppressing political opponents.
Starvation as Collective Punishment
According to the report, the Houthi militias have used economic deprivation as a tool of collective punishment. The deliberate suspension of salaries for approximately 70 percent of public-sector employees, combined with the imposition of illegal levies, has reportedly resulted in an 80 percent decline in purchasing power.
The same source states that the Houthi conflict has pushed approximately 80 percent of Yemeni households below the poverty line, while half of the residents of the Capital Secretariat have reached the stage of acute food insecurity.
In what the report describes as an attempt to divert humanitarian assistance and cut off the primary lifeline for millions of people in need, the Houthi militias have also targeted humanitarian organizations and United Nations agencies. The report documents 129 violations against humanitarian organizations, including the arrest of 52 employees and the enforced disappearance of 31 others in secret detention facilities operated by the Iranian-backed group.
National symbols have likewise become targets of the Houthi campaign. During the month of September alone, the report documented 156 violations against citizens solely for raising the Yemeni national flag or commemorating the September 26 Yemeni Revolution. These violations included the arrest of 103 individuals, among them women and children, the enforced disappearance of 27 others, and raids on 12 private homes.
Human Shields
The report also reveals disturbing details concerning the disaster that struck the Khashm Al-Bakrah neighborhood in Bani Al-Harith District, Sanaa, on May 22, 2025. According to the report, the explosion of a secret weapons and missile depot allegedly established by the Houthi militias beneath civilian homes resulted in the deaths and injuries of more than 90 civilians, wiped out entire families, and destroyed approximately 50 houses.
The organization describes the incident as compelling evidence that the Houthi militias have used civilians as human shields and stored explosives within residential neighborhoods. According to the report, these practices constitute serious violations of the Geneva Conventions and may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute. The organization further emphasizes that such crimes are not subject to statutes of limitation.
The Yemeni organization called on the international community and the United Nations Security Council to move beyond expressions of concern and fulfill their legal responsibilities by taking action to halt these violations, compel the Houthi militias to remove military camps and weapons depots from populated cities, and ensure that those responsible for ordering and carrying out these acts are held accountable.
