Yemen – Reopening of Houthi’ recruitment of child soldiers file

The Yemeni government has criticized the continued silence of the international community towards the increasing recruitment of children by Iran-affiliated Houthi terrorist militias in areas under its control, stressing that the continuation of recruitment campaigns will represent an obstacle to the efforts to pacify and establish peace.

Yemeni Information Minister Muammar al-Eryani said in a statement carried by the official news agency Saba: “The international community has not taken any steps to stop the recruitment of children by Houthi militias and to use them as fuel for their futile war”.

This comes in light of the UN truce declaration and the efforts being made to reach a comprehensive ceasefire and a comprehensive political solution in accordance with the terms of reference, he added.

Al-Eryani said scenes leaking from the so-called summer centers of leaders of Iran’s Houthi terrorist militia, luring children, mobilizing them with extremist ideologies, slogans of death, violence and hatred, and engaging in the largest recruitment of children in human history confirm their preparations for a new cycle of escalation.

He published a leaked video clip of Houthi leaders mobilizing children in the so-called summer centers with extremist ideas and death slogans.

The Yemeni Minister of Information renewed his call on the international community, the United Nations and United States envoys to take a strong and clear position on this heinous crime, and to put pressure to stop the recruitment of children by Houthi terrorist militias, and to prosecute those responsible, whether leaders or members of militias, and to include them in international terrorist lists.

The UN Panel of Experts report, issued in January, revealed that 2,000 children recruited by Houthi militias in less than two years had been killed.

The report to the Security Council said: “The Houthis are still setting up camps and holding courses to encourage young people and children to fight”.

He revealed serious crimes committed by Houthi militias against children, including rape, during sectarian cycles.

He said: “Summer camps and cultural courses targeting adult children are part of the Houthi strategy to gain support for their ideology and encourage people to join the fight”.

Earlier, a Yemeni human rights coalition revealed that Iranian-backed Houthi militias had recruited 12,054 children in a number of governorates between May 2014 and May 2021