Houthis Announce UN-Backed Agreement for the Exchange and Recovery of Remains
Yemen Monitor / Newsroom:
Abdul-Qader al-Murtada, the head of the Houthi group’s prisoner affairs committee, announced today the signing of an agreement to recover and exchange human remains from various fronts and regions. The deal involves all parties to the conflict and is sponsored and supervised by the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
In a post on the platform X, al-Murtada explained that the agreement will be followed by the formation of specialized field committees. These teams will be tasked with identifying the fate of thousands of individuals missing from all sides of the conflict.
This announcement follows Tuesday’s breakthrough in the 10th round of consultations held in Muscat, Oman, where a major prisoner exchange deal was reached. That agreement includes the release of 2,900 detainees from all parties and various battlefronts.
The recovery of remains and the release of detainees are rooted in the 2018 Stockholm Agreement, which designates the ICRC as a neutral intermediary. This role is derived from its humanitarian mandate under International Humanitarian Law (IHL).
The ICRC has a proven track record in facilitating these operations in Yemen:
- 2020: Facilitated the release and repatriation of over 900 detainees.
- 2023: Facilitated the release of more than 1,000 detainees.
The current 2025 agreement represents the largest single exchange effort since the beginning of the conflict.
