Yemeni government calls for serious international stances to stop Houthi violations against children

The Yemeni government called on the international community and the United Nations to take serious and decisive steps to stop the serious violations committed by the terrorist Houthi militia against children in Yemen.

This came in a statement delivered by Yemen's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Abdullah Al-Saadi, before the first regular session of 2025 of the Executive Board of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), held at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

The session reviewed the catastrophic humanitarian conditions experienced by children in Yemen as a result of the war waged by the Houthi militias for more than ten years, which led to an unprecedented humanitarian crisis and left behind catastrophic economic, humanitarian and social conditions, the effects of which were reflected in various aspects of life, as millions of children suffer from malnutrition and food insecurity, while more than 2.5 million children have been deprived of education.

The statement indicated that the practices of the Houthi militias have exacerbated health risks to children, including obstructing and preventing vaccination campaigns and spreading misleading information that has led to the re-spread of endemic diseases such as cholera and others in areas controlled by these militias.

The statement stressed that the Houthi militias are committing serious violations against children, by implementing the largest recruitment campaigns in modern history, where tens of thousands of children are lured and trained in so-called "summer camps" before being thrown into the battle fronts, in a flagrant violation of international conventions, norms and children's rights.

Ambassador Al-Saadi said, "Since their coup, the Houthi militias have worked to change the school curricula to serve their agenda and extremist ideology and to instill the concepts of hatred, extremism and terrorism, which poses a serious threat to the social fabric and unity of Yemeni society, the security and stability of Yemen and the region, and a threat to the present and future of children and future generations."

He touched on the practices of the Houthi militias in imposing restrictions and obstacles on the humanitarian and relief community in the areas under their control, depriving millions of children and the most vulnerable groups from obtaining humanitarian aid and exploiting this aid to serve their agenda and finance their war against the Yemeni people, pointing to the ongoing kidnapping and arbitrary detention campaigns carried out by the Houthi militias, which have affected employees of international organizations, United Nations agencies operating in Yemen, and civil society organizations.

He explained that the Yemeni government has repeatedly warned of the danger of ignoring these violations, calling on the international community and the United Nations to exert pressure on the terrorist Houthi militias to immediately and unconditionally release all detainees from these organizations, UN agencies and civil society organizations, including UNICEF employees.

Ambassador Al-Saadi stressed the Yemeni government's keenness to enhance the existing cooperation and partnership with UNICEF and its keenness to protect children's rights as stipulated by national legislation and international agreements, and to work to intensify the efforts of UNICEF and its country team in Yemen, and to provide urgent and sustainable support to improve the conditions of children in Yemen as a result of this conflict, including by strengthening social and health protection systems and securing a safe and stable future for children.

Sabanet