Alkarama, along with 21 human rights organizations, has called for urgent action to safeguard the future of children in Yemen. They highlighted the critical issues children face, including violence, forced recruitment, sexual abuse, and deprivation of humanitarian aid.
In a statement marking World Children’s Day on November 20, the organizations emphasized that thousands of children have fallen victim to over a decade of war, compounded by severe violations of their rights.
The statement underscored the urgency of establishing international accountability mechanisms and implementing a comprehensive plan to reintegrate out-of-school children. It also urged the Houthis to cease their anti-vaccine disinformation campaigns and ensure children have unrestricted access to essential services.
The statement declared: "The conflict parties, especially the Houthi group, must immediately halt all violations against children, including killing, maiming, recruitment, sexual violence, abductions, and hindering humanitarian aid access."
The organizations also demanded an end to attacks on medical and educational facilities and their use for military purposes.
The statement called on the conflict parties, the United Nations, and the international community to prioritize the protection of children in upcoming peace negotiations, ensuring justice and accountability while involving local civil society organizations and victims in the process.
The organizations stressed the need to address the pervasive impunity and urged the international community to refrain from politicizing Yemen's human rights issues. They also advocated for the establishment of an international team to investigate, collect evidence, and monitor all human rights violations in Yemen, including severe abuses against children, to ensure accountability.
The statement urged the Yemeni government and the United Nations to create a comprehensive plan to ensure the return of all out-of-school children, including those from marginalized and at-risk groups, and to prioritize the protection and rehabilitation of schools.
The international community was also called upon to take responsibility for addressing the crisis of reduced food aid, which poses a serious threat to millions of Yemeni children and their families.
Research by the Yemeni Coalition to Monitor Human Rights Violations recorded 283 serious violations against children between February 2023 and September 2024. These included 85 cases of recruitment, 75 cases of killing and maiming, 45 attacks on schools and hospitals, 24 abductions, 14 cases of sexual violence, and 7 instances of obstructing humanitarian aid. However, these figures do not fully reflect the true extent of the situation.
The UN Secretary-General's report on children and armed conflict verified 809 grave violations against 666 children in 2023 alone. UNICEF also reported that, over the past nine years, more than 11,500 children have been killed or injured due to the conflict, including 3,900 deaths and 7,600 injuries.
Statement text:
For Yemen's Future: Children Deserve a Decent Life and Justice
On World Children’s Day, Yemeni children endure the worst period of their lives. While millions of their peers across different countries celebrate this occasion and enjoy many of their rights, Yemeni children suffer the consequences of a war entering its tenth year. Each year that passes without a sustainable political solution means an uncertain future for coming generations. The Coalition for Justice for Yemen and the organizations signing this statement urge all parties to the conflict to use this day as an inspiring leap toward protecting children, safeguarding their rights, and turning these commitments into action.
Today, not tomorrow, for all our children, for our future, and for the children of those involved in the conflict, the war must end. The conflicting parties must engage directly in peace talks and work toward ensuring that children enjoy their full rights, including justice and a dignified life.
Yemeni children have endured a decade of pain and suffering as a result of the war, and no party to the conflict can evade responsibility for this plight. The Ansar Allah group (Houthis), the internationally recognized Yemeni government, the Southern Transitional Council, the joint forces, and Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula have all been responsible for violations against Yemeni children.
In 2024, perpetrators in Yemen continued committing grave human rights violations against children, especially the most vulnerable and marginalized groups. These include indiscriminate ground attacks, drone strikes, sniper assaults, landmine usage, sexual violence (particularly the rape of girls), child recruitment as soldiers, and deprivation of humanitarian aid. Such violations fall under the “six grave violations against children” classified by the United Nations.
Research by the Yemeni Coalition to Monitor Human Rights Violations, a member of the Justice Charter Coalition, documented 283 cases of grave violations against children between February 2023 and September 2024. These included 85 cases of recruitment, 75 cases of killing and maiming, 45 attacks on schools and hospitals, 24 abductions, 14 cases of sexual violence, and 7 instances of obstructing humanitarian aid. Victims included displaced individuals and marginalized groups (an ethnically marginalized community in Yemen), with boys comprising 79% of the victims. Houthis committed 84% of these violations, while the internationally recognized Yemeni government and the Southern Transitional Council were responsible for 14%, and 2% were committed by unknown actors.
These numbers do not reflect the full reality. According to the Secretary-General’s report on children and armed conflict, in 2023 alone, the United Nations verified 809 grave violations against 666 children. UNICEF reported that over nine years, more than 11,500 children were killed or injured due to conflict-related causes, including 3,900 deaths and 7,600 injuries. The future of Yemeni children remains uncertain and perilous. For instance, 4.5 million children are out of school, a ticking time bomb that threatens Yemen’s future. Additionally, attacks on educational infrastructure persist. UNICEF reported in October 2022 that about 3,000 schools had been destroyed or repurposed for military use over seven years.
On the humanitarian front, approximately 10 million children urgently need humanitarian aid, according to UNICEF’s latest reports. With the World Food Program reducing the number of beneficiaries of food assistance in recent months, the number of children requiring food or facing acute malnutrition is likely to rise significantly in the coming months. Peter Hawkins, UNICEF’s representative in Yemen, warned of a looming “crisis of the future” threatening Yemen, citing increasing acute malnutrition rates exceeding 30% in some areas, while 48% of children suffer from stunting, affecting their physical and cognitive development. The international community and the World Food Program must swiftly devise solutions to address the reduction in aid.
Meanwhile, children face numerous challenges in accessing hospitals, with the most alarming being the sharp decline in access to life-saving vaccines. A recent UN report revealed that one in four children does not receive the recommended vaccines, while 17% of children receive no vaccines at all. Most of these figures pertain to Houthi-controlled areas, which have seen a rise in polio cases and other preventable diseases, such as measles, due to campaigns by Houthis spreading disinformation about polio vaccines. The World Health Organization revealed that 62,000 children under five die each year due to deteriorating healthcare services.
Under the pressure of economic hardship affecting millions of families and the significant dropout rate of children from school, families are forced to send their children to work to help support them. A joint study by the Central Statistics Organization and UNICEF for 2022-2023 indicated that 15.9% of children are engaged in labor, with 23.4% working under hazardous conditions.
The plight of Yemeni children persists, and violations against them continue in the absence of an international accountability mechanism to deter conflicting parties from committing violations. Civil society organizations in Yemen eagerly await a peace agreement and hope that all parties, including the Yemeni government, will fulfill their responsibilities to protect children. However, to ensure the ongoing negotiations effectively bring lasting peace to Yemen, these talks must include civil society and address transitional justice and accountability as fundamental pillars.
Recommendations from the signatory organizations:
Conflict parties, particularly the Houthis, must immediately cease all violations against children, including killing, maiming, recruitment, sexual violence, abductions, and obstructing humanitarian aid. They must refrain from attacking medical and educational facilities or using them for military purposes.
Conflict parties, the United Nations, and the international community must prioritize child protection in future peace talks to ensure justice and accountability. Local civil society organizations and victims of violations must be included in these discussions.
To curb impunity, the international community must avoid politicizing the human rights file in Yemen and work to establish an international team to investigate and monitor all human rights violations, including grave violations against children, ensuring accountability.
The Yemeni government and the United Nations must develop a comprehensive plan to ensure all currently out-of-school children return to education, prioritizing protection and rehabilitation for schools.
The international community must address the reduction in food aid that endangers millions of Yemeni children and their families.
The Houthis must halt their misinformation campaigns against children’s vaccines and allow health workers to administer vaccinations and launch immunization campaigns without obstruction.
Signatory Organizations:
1. Yemeni Coalition for Monitoring Human Rights Violations
2. Accountability Organization
3. Al-Amal Cultural and Social Feminist Foundation
4. Marib Dam Foundation for Social Development
5. Free Media Center for Investigative Journalism
6. Center for Strategic Studies to Support Women and Children
7. Center for Studies and Economic Media
8. Human Rights Watch
9. Organization of the Association of Mothers of Abductees
10. SAM Organization for Rights and Freedoms
11. Ensan Development Foundation HDF
12. Watch for Rights and Freedoms
13. Addameer Association for Rights and Freedoms
14. Electronic Organization for Humanitarian Information EOHM
15. Alkarama - Geneva
16. Together We Rise Foundation for Women and Children Care
17. Peace Pathways Foundation PPF
18. Media Village for Development and Information
19. Development Experts
20. Foundation For You for Response and Human Development
21. Yemen Media Guide Center for Development - YMGD
22. SOS Development Foundation