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Yemen: Rights Radar Monitors 565 Killings, 624 Injuries and 410 Abductions Committed by Parties to Conflict This Year

Amsterdam, 10/12/2021

Rights Radar for Human Rights, based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, has called on the parties to the conflict in Yemen to adhere to the international conventions and treaties related to the preservation and protection of human's rights, dignity and physical integrity.

In its statement on the occasion of the International Human Rights Day, on December 10, 2021, Rights Radar says that it is important to stress on the sanctity of the blood of civilians and the necessity to protect their lives and ensure their safety in accordance with the international legislation and charters, including the International Humanitarian Law, the International Human Rights Law and the relevant documents and agreements.

Rights Radar stated that its field monitors in Yemen managed to monitor hundreds of abuses committed against civilians during the period from January 1, 2021 to December 1, 2021. These abuses reflect the bloody Yemeni war and they are considered a serious challenge to the international human rights covenants.

During the mentioned period, Rights Radar monitors documented 565 killings of civilians, including 401 men, 23 women and 141 children, in addition to 624 injuries, including 428 men, 61 women and 135 children.

According to the spatial classification, these numbers and statistics are distributed over many governorates. Marib Governorate comes first with 70 killings, the capital Sana’a comes second with 65 killings, Taiz Governorate comes third with 57 killings, Hodeida Governorate comes  fourth with 49 killings, Aden Governorate comes fifth with 38 killings, Hadramout Governorate comes sixth with 19 killings, the governorates of Al Bayda and Amran governorates come seventh with 16 killings each, the governorates of Abyan and Hajjah come eighth with 14 killings each, the governorates of Al Dhalea and Al Jawf come ninth with 10 killings each, and the rest of the killings were distributed over the remaining governorates.

According to the monitored and documented statistics, the parties responsible for committing these killings are distributed as follows: the Houthi militia with 437 cases, the unknown gangs with 79 cases, the UAE-backed militia, that is out of control of the internationally recognized government, with 19 cases, in addition to 23 cases due to the security chaos, the Saudi-led coalition forces with 5 cases, the government forces with 1 case, and Al-Qaeda with 1 case.

As for the injured and wounded people due to the abuses, the Houthi militia bears responsibility for 565 injuries, followed by unknown gangs with 30 injuries, then UAE-backed militia, that is out of control of the internationally recognized government, with 9 cases, after that the security chaos resulted in 14 cases of injuries, and finally the legitimate government bears responsibility for 6 cases of injuries.

According to Rights Radar’s monitors, the cases of abduction during the period covered by the statement reached 410 abductions, including 372 men, 10 women and girls and 28 children. The Houthi militia bears the responsibility for the abduction of 234 men, 7 women and 19 children. the UAE-backed militia bears responsibility for the abduction of 127 men, two women and 7 children. The unknown gangs are responsible for the abduction of 5 men, 1 woman and 2 children. Finally, the government forces are responsible for the abduction of 6 men.

According to the above-mentioned abuses, Rights Radar calls on the international community to put pressure on the parties to the conflict to limit the commitment of abuses against the human rights in Yemen, especially the Houthi militia that comes on top of the list of abuses.

Rights Radar also calls on the United Nations envoy to Yemen, Hans Grunberg, to put pressure on all parties in order to spare civilians the scourge of war and reduce the health and psychological effects of the war on civilians, especially women, children and the disabled people.

Finally, Rights Radar calls on the Houthi militia to stop committing abuses against civilians. It is worth noting that, many of these abuses are considered war crimes that make the perpetrators and their supporters bear the criminal legal responsibility before the international courts and bodies and these crimes do not have a statute of limitations. Rights Radar also calls on the Yemeni government to give due care to the human rights and follow up on all the abuses by monitoring and documenting them, in addition to following up with the international legal bodies.