Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch Demand Houthi Release of UN Staff
Yemen Monitor / Newsroom:
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have renewed their call for the Houthi group to immediately and unconditionally release dozens of detained staff from the United Nations and Yemeni and international civil society organizations. They warn that these arbitrary arrests directly threaten efforts to deliver life-saving aid to those in need in Yemen.
A joint statement issued by the two organizations explained that the Houthi group has carried out a series of raids and arrests in areas under its control since last year, resulting in the detention of 13 UN staff and 50 other employees working for local and international humanitarian and community organizations, all without any legal basis.
The statement also revealed a new wave of arrests between January 23 and 25, 2025, during which eight additional UN staff were arbitrarily detained.
These actions led the United Nations in January to announce the suspension of all official movements into Houthi-controlled areas as a precautionary measure, following escalating concerns about the safety of humanitarian workers.
Commenting on the situation, Diala Haidar, Yemen Researcher at Amnesty International, stated, “The detention of these staff members without charge or trial for nearly a year is appalling, especially as they were performing purely humanitarian tasks related to providing medical and food aid to the most vulnerable groups.”
For her part, Nico Jafarnia, Yemen and Bahrain Researcher at Human Rights Watch, emphasized that the Houthis must facilitate the work of humanitarian workers instead of obstructing it. She called on influential countries, along with the UN and international civil society, to use all possible tools to press for the immediate release of those detained and to support their affected families.
The statement revealed the death of a World Food Programme worker while in Houthi detention, a serious indication of the detention conditions. It warned that “repeated brutal arrests have exacerbated the already deteriorating humanitarian crisis in the country,” calling for urgent international action to address these violations.
