Human rights and humanitarian laws have been broken by all sides in the protracted battle in Yemen, and they have all done so with impunity. Parties to the war persisted in their illegal attacks that killed and maimed civilians, obstructed their access to humanitarian relief, and damaged civilian property in spite of an agreement to a truce.
Journalists and activists have been subjected to harassment, arbitrary detention, and legal actions by both the internationally recognized Yemeni government and the Huthi de facto authorities due to their peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of expression or their political affiliation. Everybody involved engaged in prejudice and violence against women. The de facto Houthi authorities have made it illegal for women to travel without a male guardian, which is making it harder for Yemeni women to work and provide or accept humanitarian help.
Freedom of Expression
In Sana’a, the Huthi de facto authorities stormed and closed down at least six radio stations. After appealing the closure to the Journalism and Publishing Court in Sana’a, the proprietor of the Sawt al-Yemen radio station was granted a court order to restart the station. Nonetheless, security personnel stormed the station once more and took its transmitting equipment. After an egregiously unjust trial in 2020, the Huthi de facto authorities proceeded to jail at least eight journalists, four of whom were on death row. The appeal hearing for the four journalists on death row Akram Al-Walidi, Abdelkhaleq Amran, Hareth Hamid, and Tawfiq Al-Mansouri was repeatedly postponed by the Sana’a appeal court.
Children and Armed Conflict
Children are badly impacted by Yemen’s lengthy armed war and humanitarian crisis: According to UNICEF, over 10,200 children have been murdered or injured, 2 million are internally displaced, and 13 million children in Yemen require humanitarian aid. Fighting has damaged schools and hospitals, disrupting children’s health and education facilities. Yemeni laws specifically allow for the domestic abuse of children.
Throughout the conflict, the Houthis and the coalition commanded by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have seriously violated children’s rights. Attacks carried out without purpose have damaged hospitals and schools, leaving thousands of children dead or maimed. Thousands of minors have been recruited by the Houthis to serve as soldiers, while Yemeni forces that support the government have also sent young people into conflict.
Blocking And Impeding Humanitarian Access
Long-term delays are caused by needless limitations and rules that the Houthis and the Yemeni government place on assistance groups and projects. As part of the UN-backed truce, which includes an agreement to restore Sanaa International Airport for commercial flights, the first commercial aircraft in six years departed Sanaa. Thirteen round-trip flights carrying over 15,000 people had arrived and left Sanaa. The third-largest city in Yemen, Taizz, has not made much headway in having its roadways opened, despite UN efforts.
The essential highways remained closed by Houthi troops, impairing people’s freedom of movement and exacerbating the already serious humanitarian situation in Taizz. Since 2015, Houthi troops have closed the main roadways into and out of Taizz, significantly restricting civilian freedom of movement and making it more difficult for inhabitants to receive humanitarian aid, basic necessities, and medical care.
Right to Food
Food insecurity affects almost half of Yemen’s population, and the situation in Ukraine has made it worse. Leading agricultural product exporters to Yemen were Ukraine and Russia, and war-related interruptions exacerbated already rising food costs and widened the gap between rich and poor. Yemen purchased at least 27% of its wheat from Ukraine and 8% from Russia before the conflict.
The International Rescue Committee reports that over half of the population is in need of food assistance due to recent skyrocketing food prices and the sharp depreciation of the Yemeni rial, which has increased the cost of imports of food, oil, and other necessities and drastically decreased the purchasing power of households.
Wrap Up
In conclusion, Same-sex relationships are forbidden by Yemen’s criminal law. If participants in anal intercourse are not married, Article 264 punishes them with 100 lashes and a year in prison. The same article stipulates stoning to death if one is married. Sex between women is punishable by up to three years in jail under Article 268. While traveling from Somalia, Ethiopia, and Djibouti to Saudi Arabia in pursuit of employment, migrants in Yemen suffer grave human rights violations; many are detained in appalling conditions without sufficient access to food or basic amenities.