ABU DHABI, 20th January, 2025 (WAM) -- Yemen's Ministry of Legal Affairs and Human Rights has condemned what it described as "catastrophic violations" by the Houthi group, stating that their actions have disrupted humanitarian efforts in a country facing one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.
According to the United Nations, over 20 million Yemenis rely on aid to survive.
The ministry highlighted the urgent need to ensure unhindered humanitarian assistance to Yemen's population, warning that the Houthi militia’s actions are driving the nation closer to a full-scale humanitarian disaster.
Ahmad Arman, Yemen's Minister of Legal Affairs and Human Rights, warned of escalating human rights violations, citing systematic arrests targeting humanitarian workers by the Houthi militia.
He called for practical measures to secure the release of detainees affiliated with UN organisations, revealing that between May and August 2024, 72 humanitarian workers were abducted, including 22 UN staff and 50 others from international humanitarian organisations.
Arman urged the international community to respond decisively to this alarming escalation and adopt more effective strategies to hold Houthi leaders accountable, advocating for international sanctions and the referral of cases to the International Criminal Court.
The targeting of UN employees and humanitarian workers by the Houthis has drawn widespread international condemnation. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk strongly denounced the group's storming of the UNHCR offices in Sana’a and called for the immediate and unconditional release of all detained staff.
The UN and other international organisations have similarly demanded the immediate release of the detained workers, warning that continued arrests are obstructing humanitarian operations in Yemen.
According to Human Rights Watch, the Houthi group launched a widespread campaign of arrests starting in May 2024, detaining dozens of aid workers arbitrarily and accusing them of baseless charges such as espionage and collaboration with "foreign networks."
The organisation reported that the Houthis are practising enforced disappearances and withholding information about the detainees' locations and conditions, heightening the risk of torture and mistreatment.
This crackdown has significantly disrupted humanitarian relief programmes in affected areas, where more than 20 million Yemenis depend on aid for survival.
The UN has warned that these practices threaten to exacerbate the humanitarian crisis, leading to severe shortages of food and medicine and worsening hunger and disease rates.
Since their coup in September 2014, the Houthis have repeatedly accused international organisations of bias and serving foreign agendas. While past incidents have targeted activists, journalists, and international employees, the 2024 campaign represents an unprecedented escalation in scale, nature, and severity of charges against UN and international humanitarian workers.