Rights Monitor: Continued Detention of UN Personnel by the Houthi Group is a Violation of International and Humanitarian Laws
Yemen Monitor/Newsroom:
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor expressed its deep concern over the continued detention of United Nations personnel and civil society organizations in Yemen by the Houthi group, demanding their immediate and unconditional release and the cessation of related violations.
The Euro-Mediterranean Monitor said that since June 2024, the Houthi group has arbitrarily detained at least 13 employees affiliated with the United Nations and 50 workers in international and national non-governmental organizations, while only 3 of them have been released, with the others remaining in arbitrary detention and without access to a lawyer.
On January 23, 2025, the Houthi group detained seven additional United Nations employees in the areas under its control, with their detention continuing without any justification.
The Euro-Mediterranean Monitor highlighted that this arbitrary detention comes in the context of a repressive campaign targeting workers in the humanitarian and human rights fields, which threatens the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Yemen and impedes efforts to provide life-saving assistance.
It noted that Yemen faces escalating economic and social challenges as a result of the ongoing conflict and internal divisions. According to a World Bank report issued on November 31, 2024, Yemen’s gross domestic product contracted by 1% in 2024, leading to a deterioration in living standards for most of the population, while the unemployment rate among young people rose from 14% before the war to 60% by July 2024.
In addition, disruptions in humanitarian aid and essential imports have exacerbated the situation, with about 17 million people suffering from food insecurity, in addition to the population’s lack of access to safe drinking water and reliable sanitation facilities, leading to the outbreak of preventable diseases such as cholera, diphtheria, measles and fever, with women, girls and marginalized groups experiencing the most severe forms of suffering.
It pointed out that, according to the United Nations for 2025, at least 19.5 million people of the Yemeni population depend on humanitarian assistance, and therefore these arrests exacerbate the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Yemen, where the United Nations has been forced to suspend all official movements within the areas under Houthi control and the surrounding areas.
The Euro-Mediterranean Monitor stressed that targeting humanitarian workers constitutes a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, in particular the principles relating to the protection of humanitarian personnel and ensuring their freedom of action without intimidation or arbitrary detention.
It affirmed that all warring parties in Yemen, as a party to a non-international armed conflict, are legally bound by the provisions of international humanitarian law, in particular Article 3 common to the Geneva Conventions of 1949, which prohibits arbitrary detention and guarantees humane treatment of detainees, and the Fourth Geneva Convention, which emphasizes the need to protect civilians, including humanitarian workers, while the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights prohibits arbitrary arrest and violation of guarantees of fair trial.
It stressed that the detention of UN personnel and humanitarian workers constitutes a grave violation of these rules and amounts to a war crime under Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which may expose those responsible to international prosecution.
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor called on all warring parties in Yemen to respect their international obligations and to stop using arbitrary detention as a means of political pressure, noting that the continued repression and violations against humanitarian workers will only exacerbate the humanitarian crisis in the country, which requires urgent and decisive action to ensure respect for human rights and the protection of those who serve the most vulnerable groups in society.
The Euro-Mediterranean Monitor also called on the international community to intensify efforts to support the humanitarian response, protect vulnerable groups, and work to end the conflict to ensure a more stable and humane future for the people of Yemen, and to redouble efforts to ensure the release of detainees and take strict measures to protect humanitarian and human rights workers in Yemen
