Yemeni and international organizations document Houthi violations against children

Ahmed Murad (Aden, Cairo)

The Houthi group continues its violations of forcibly recruiting children and sending them to the fighting fronts in blatant defiance of international laws and humanitarian norms that criminalize the involvement of children in military conflicts.
Recently, 43 local and international organizations documented some Houthi violations against thousands of children, including the group’s continued recruitment operations and pushing them to the fighting fronts, despite the action plan that the group signed with the United Nations in April 2022, in which it pledged to end the recruitment of children and stop… About killing them, and targeting schools.
The organizations stated in a joint statement that Houthi missiles, indiscriminate artillery attacks, and the use of land mines caused thousands of child casualties, as the group’s militants attacked dozens of schools and hospitals, used the schools for military purposes, and recruited thousands of children and sent them to the battle fronts.
Yemeni political analyst, Saleh Abu Awadhal, warned of the seriousness of the violations and crimes committed by the Houthi group against the children of Yemen, especially in the areas under its control, as the coup group, since its invasion of the capital and some governorates in September 2014, has been deliberately attracting thousands of children through suspicious and sectarian recruitment operations. And throwing them into the battlefields, in clear violation of all humanitarian norms and laws.
Abu Awadhal stated in a statement to Al-Ittihad that the Houthi group does not abide by any pledge or agreement, and practices a systematic violation of all international laws and conventions that guarantee the security and safety of children in areas of conflict and disputes. Unfortunately, it finds no deterrent, and thus continues its hostile practices, in addition to… Her insistence on violating the agreements and commitments she made.
The political analyst stressed Yemen's need for a humanitarian project that will return thousands of children to schools and the path of education and digital development, instead of bulldozing the future.
In turn, the Yemeni political analyst, Dr. Hamza Al Kamali, explained that “the Houthi group is working to trap the minds of thousands of children with poisonous sectarian ideas, so that it will be easier for it to recruit them for its sectarian project, and push them to the battle fronts to fight in the ranks of its fighters.”
The Yemeni government estimated the number of children recruited by the Houthi group in the period from September 2014 to September 2021 at about 35,000 children, and the “Yemeni Coalition for Monitoring Human Rights Violations” previously revealed that the Houthis had established 83 centers to attract and recruit children.
Al-Kamali said in a statement to Al-Ittihad: The Houthi group resorts to inhumane means of pressure to force children to join the ranks of its fighters, including exploiting some families’ need for money, as the Houthis give these families some aid in exchange for agreeing to their children’s participation in the fighting.