Human Rights Organizations Demand Release of UN and Civil Society Staff Detained by Houthis
Yemen Monitor/Newsroom:
International and local human rights bodies have reiterated the urgent need for the immediate and unconditional release of all detainees in Yemen, along with a halt to all forms of targeting against humanitarian and human rights workers.
The Yemeni Coalition for Human Rights and the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies issued an urgent appeal to the United Nations and influential countries, demanding intensive efforts to ensure the release of staff detained by the Houthi group and the protection of civil society activists.
This week marks a full year since the arbitrary arrest campaign launched by the Houthis, which resulted in the detention of 13 UN employees and 50 workers from local and international organizations, including four women.
The wave of arrests began on May 31, 2024, and was repeated on January 23 and 25, 2025, leading to the arrest of 8 additional UN employees. This prompted the international organization to suspend its official operations in areas under Houthi control.
Despite some successful mediation efforts that secured the release of a number of detainees at spaced intervals, including two women, dozens remain in prisons without trial or legal guarantees.
Concerns about the detainees’ conditions intensified after the death of a World Food Programme employee in Houthi prisons on February 11, while the group ignores international demands for a transparent investigation into the circumstances of the death.
Human rights organizations attribute the continuation of these violations to the weak international pressure on the Houthis, which has encouraged them to persist in violating international humanitarian law that protects humanitarian workers from arbitrary arrest and mistreatment.
These practices have led to serious humanitarian repercussions. Detainees’ families have suffered economic and psychological crises due to the absence of a breadwinner, in addition to media campaigns that targeted the reputation of those detained with unjustified accusations.
This oppressive atmosphere has led to the withdrawal of many international organizations from operating in Houthi-controlled areas, depriving millions of Yemenis of essential humanitarian aid at a time when over 18 million people, including 14 million women and children, are suffering from harsh living conditions.
