HRW: Houthi Arrests of UN Staff Pushing Humanitarian Aid in Yemen to the Brink of Collapse
Yemen Monitor / Newsroom:
Human Rights Watch (HRW) warned on Thursday that the escalating arbitrary arrests conducted by the Houthi group against United Nations staff and humanitarian organization workers in Yemen are pushing the aid crisis to the brink of collapse, amid one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters.
The organization’s report revealed that the Houthis have arbitrarily detained at least 69 UN employees, along with dozens of workers from international and local organizations, as of early January 2026. The report confirmed that detainees face false accusations of espionage and are denied due legal process, in addition to the broadcasting of “confessions” extracted under coercion.
Nico Jafarnia, Yemen and Bahrain researcher at Human Rights Watch, stated that the Houthis are detaining aid workers who provide vital support while failing to meet the basic needs of the population. She called for the immediate release of the detainees and an end to the obstruction of humanitarian aid.
Areas under Houthi control have witnessed raids on UN offices and residential compounds in Sana’a, where the group confiscated equipment and vehicles belonging to these organizations. This has led to the suspension of UN activities in governorates such as Saada, despite rising rates of emergency hunger there. The situation has also triggered a mass exodus of Yemeni staff from Houthi-controlled areas for fear of prosecution, with warnings of a total collapse in health and water services due to the downsizing or withdrawal of humanitarian organizations.
In light of these conditions, the report warned of an imminent food catastrophe between November 2025 and May 2026 in Houthi-held areas, highlighting the imposition of strict restrictions on the movement of persons and interference in aid beneficiary lists. Testimonies also recorded the Houthis’ use of humanitarian aid as a tool of blackmail to recruit children from local families.
Human Rights Watch expressed deep concern over the referral of several detained employees to the Houthi-controlled Specialized Criminal Court, which lacks fair trial standards and has previously issued death sentences against opponents in similar cases.
The organization concluded its report by calling on the international community—particularly the Sultanate of Oman as a mediator—and concerned governments to pressure the Houthi group to ensure the immediate release of all detainees. It emphasized that targeting humanitarian workers effectively targets millions of Yemenis who rely on this aid for survival.
