Human Rights Report: Nearly 30,000 Houthi Violations Against Children Since 2015
Yemen Monitor / Newsroom:
The Yemeni Network for Rights and Freedoms announced on Thursday the documentation of 29,891 violations and crimes committed by the Houthi group against children in Yemen during the period extending from January 1, 2015, to March 30, 2026.
In a report launched today, the network stated that the documented violations included the killing of 5,180 children, including 582 infants, as a result of sniper fire, indiscriminate shelling, landmine planting, massacres, and other violations.
The report added that 6,748 children suffered various wounds and injuries, including hundreds of children who suffered permanent disabilities due to landmines.
According to the report, the network documented 348 cases of abduction and enforced disappearance of children, and 167 cases of rape, in addition to several abducted children being subjected to physical and psychological torture inside detention centers run by the group, including children who died under torture.
The report pointed out that the Houthi group also caused the displacement and banishment of 43,965 children, while the repercussions of the war and the coup pushed more than 3 million children into the labor market, and deprived about 4.5 million children of education as a result of turning schools into military barracks and centers for mobilization and recruitment.
Regarding child recruitment, the network confirmed that the group continues to recruit children and involve them in military operations, in violation of international humanitarian law and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
It noted that international reports speak of the Houthis recruiting more than 40,000 children, while the network documented the killing of 6,823 recruited children and the injury of 9,986 others.
The Yemeni Network for Rights and Freedoms considered these violations “grave crimes amounting to crimes against humanity,” and constituting a clear breach of international humanitarian law and international conventions related to the protection of children.
It called on the group to immediately stop recruiting children and to release all abducted children. It also called on the international community, the United Nations, and human rights organizations to take effective measures to protect Yemen’s children and hold those responsible for these violations accountable.
The network warned of the risks of losing an entire generation of children if these crimes continue without serious international action to stop them.
