Rights Radar Organization for Human Rights, based in The Hague, Netherlands, has called on the conflicting parties in Yemen to respect all treaties and agreements related to human rights and to halt all violations that affect human life, rights, and dignity.
International Human Rights Day, December 10, comes at a time when Yemenis are enduring the repercussions of the ongoing war, which has impacted all aspects of life. The psychological and health effects on victims of all categories are escalating, particularly among the most vulnerable civilians.
It is unfortunate that some violations have become recurring, with certain parties continuing to commit them in full view of the relevant authorities. More victims are being exposed to violations such as artillery and missile shelling, as well as landmines, explosives, and other forms of harm. Meanwhile, the role of international bodies, led by the Office of the United Nations Envoy to Yemen, remains limited to monitoring and condemnation.
This raises the question of the moral responsibility of these international bodies toward the victims, in light of the legal and moral obligations they bear in Yemen based on the international mandate granted to them. This mandate is rooted in the highest and strongest international legislation, which is meant to provide protection for victims, regardless of their color, race, or religion.
According to the monitoring and documentation by the Rights Radar team in 20 Yemeni governorates from January 2024 to November 2024, a total of 2,368 violations were recorded. These violations varied and included detentions, enforced disappearances, torture, killings, injuries, child recruitment, as well as personal assaults and attacks on public and private property.
According to the recorded data, the violation of detention and arbitrary detention topped the list of violations committed by the conflicting parties in Yemen since January, with 914 cases. This was followed by assaults on public and private property, totaling 477 cases, including 99 cases involving private property.
Killing ranked third with 349 cases, followed by injury in fourth place with 225 cases. Enforced disappearance ranked fifth with 171 cases, and child recruitment was sixth with 124 cases. Personal assault came in seventh place with 85 cases, and finally, torture and abuse accounted for 23 cases. According to the geographical distribution of violations, Ibb Governorate ranked first with 419 cases, followed by the capital Sana'a with 327 cases. Dhamar Governorate ranked third with 246 cases, followed by Al Bayda Governorate in fourth place with 236 cases, and Amran Governorate ranked fifth with 200 cases. In sixth place was Taiz Governorate with 146 cases, followed by Al Hodeidah Governorate in seventh place with 144 cases. Al Dhale Governorate ranked eighth with 112 cases, while Al Jawf Governorate came in ninth with 91 cases. Finally, Aden Governorate ranked tenth with 78 cases.
According to the numbers and statistics monitored and documented by Rights Radar across the Yemeni governorates, the Houthi militia topped the list of the most violating parties, committing 2,041 cases out of the total violations covered by the statement during the mentioned period. These violations were distributed as follows: 160 cases of enforced disappearance, 73 cases of personal assault, 863 cases of arbitrary detention, 123 cases of child recruitment, 18 cases of torture, 225 cases of killing, and 181 cases of injury due to assault. Additionally, there were 398 cases of assault on public and private property, 88 of which involved public property.
It was followed by formations affiliated with the legitimate government but not under its control, which committed 130 cases. These included 34 cases of detention (six of which were cases of enforced disappearance), 66 cases of attacks on public and private property (16 of which involved public property), 17 cases of killing, five cases of injury, three cases of torture, four cases of personal assault, and one case of child recruitment.
This year, unknown parties ranked third on the list of the most violating groups, committing 43 cases of killing, nine cases of injury, and nine cases of abduction, including three cases of enforced disappearance, four cases of personal assault, and five cases of attacks on public and private property.
Fourth place was occupied by violations resulting from the security chaos, with 63 cases. These included 51 cases of killing, seven cases of injury, two cases of abduction, and three cases of personal assault.
The internationally recognized government ranked fifth on the list of violating parties with 33 cases, including three killings, two injuries, 17 detentions (2 of which were enforced disappearances), two cases of torture, and one personal assault, in addition to 8 attacks on personal property. Finally, extremist organizations followed with four violations, including two abductions (one of which was an enforced disappearance) and two killings.
Al-Qaeda ranked sixth with 31 violations, including 10 killings and 21 injuries.
As for the victims of killing crimes, Al-Bayda Governorate topped the list with 52 cases, followed by Ibb Governorate with 36 cases, Amran Governorate ranked fourth with 34 cases, and Al-Hodeidah Governorate in fourth place with 31 cases. Al-Jawf Governorate ranked fifth with 28 cases, followed by Taiz Governorate with 25 cases in sixth place, and Al-Dhale Governorate in seventh place with 24 cases. In eighth place was Sana’a Governorate with 15 cases, followed by Shabwa Governorate with 13 cases, and Hajjah Governorate in tenth place with 11 cases. In eleventh place came Abyan and Aden Governorates, each with 10 cases, followed by Lahj and Marib Governorates with 7 cases each. Then came Dhamar and Sa’dah Governorates with 4 cases each, Hadhramaut and Al-Mahwit Governorates with 3 cases each, and finally, one case in Raymah Governorate.
As for the victims of arbitrary detention, Ibb Governorate ranked first with 269 cases, followed by the capital Sana’a with 122 cases. Dhamar Governorate came third with 105 cases, Al-Bayda Governorate fourth with 94 cases, and Amran with 75 cases in fifth place. Al-Hodeidah Governorate ranked sixth with 44 cases, Taiz came seventh with 37 cases, and Al-Dhale’e came eighth with 36 cases. In ninth place was Al-Mahwit with 33 cases, followed by Hajjah Governorate in tenth place with 21 cases. The government’s temporary capital, Aden, had 19 cases, and Raymah Governorate had 18 cases. Al-Jawf Governorate followed with 14 cases, Sana’a Governorate had 13 cases, Hadhramaut had five cases, Sa’dah Governorate had four cases, Lahj Governorate had three cases, and Marib had two cases.
Regarding enforced disappearances, the list was topped by the capital Sana’a and Dhamar, with 50 cases each, followed by Ibb Governorate with 23 cases. Al-Hodeidah Governorate ranked third with nine cases, and both Al-Dhale’e and Amran Governorates each had seven cases.
In Taiz Governorate, there were six cases, followed by five cases in each of Aden and Al-Bayda Governorates. Al-Mahwit had four cases, and Hadhramaut had two cases. Sana’a, Sa’dah, and Hajjah each had one case.
Regarding torture cases, which totaled 23, the capital Sana’a topped the list of governorates with 10 cases, followed by Taiz, Hadhramaut, Dhamar, and the temporary capital, Aden each with two cases. There was one case each in Al-Dhale’e, Al-Mahwit, Amran, and Sana’a.
As for child recruitment violations, the monitored figures show that Hajjah Governorate tops the list with 23 cases, followed by the capital Sana’a with 22 cases. Sa’dah ranked third with 15 cases, Amran fourth with 11 cases, and Dhamar and Sana’a governorates in fifth place with 9 cases each. Al-Mahwit Governorate ranked sixth with eight cases, followed by Al-Jawf with seven cases, and Al-Hodeidah with five cases. Al-Bayda and Ibb Governorates came in the ninth place with 4 cases each, and Taiz Governorate ranked tenth with 3 cases. Al-Dhale’e had 2 cases, and Ma’rib and Raymah Governorates each had one case.
Regarding violations against private property, statistics indicate that the capital Sana’a had the highest number of violations, with 78 cases, followed by Dhamar Governorate with 75 cases, and Ibb Governorate with 33 cases. The temporary capital, Aden, came in fourth place with 27 cases, followed by Al-Bayda and Al-Jawf Governorates in fifth place, each with 26 cases. Amran Governorate ranked sixth with 25 cases, followed by Al-Dhale’e with 24 cases, then Al-Hodeidah with 16 cases, and Taiz Governorate with 12 cases. Al-Mahwit came in tenth place with seven cases, followed by Abyan, Shabwa, and Sana’a Governorates, each with 6 cases. Lahj Governorate ranked thirteenth with three cases, and finally, Hajjah, Raymah, and Sa’dah Governorates each had two cases.
As for violations against public property, Amran Governorate topped the list with 24 cases, followed by Ibb Governorate with 23 cases, and the capital Sana’a with 14 cases. Al-Hodeidah and Aden ranked fourth with eight cases each. Al-Bayda came fifth with seven cases, followed by Al-Mahwit and Shabwa with four cases each. Hadhramaut ranked seventh with two cases, and finally Lahj, Sana’a, Dhamar, Al-Jawf, and Abyan Governorates each had one case.
Regarding personal assaults, Amran and Al-Bayda Governorates topped the list with 16 cases each, followed by Ibb Governorate with 14 cases, the capital Sana’a with 11 cases, and Taiz Governorate with seven cases. Al-Hodeidah came fifth with five cases, followed by the temporary capital, Aden, in sixth place with four cases. Sa’dah, Hajjah, Raymah, and Al-Jawf came seventh with two cases each. Finally, Abyan, Al-Dhale’e, Hadhramaut, and Al-Mahwit Governorates each had one case.
Through this data, it became clear that some numbers have doubled in certain violations, and some governorates have exchanged positions in terms of the number and type of violations. This is particularly evident in the cases of detention and abduction, which peaked when the Houthi militia detained more than 428 civilians last September on illegal charges following the Yemeni celebrations of the anniversary of the revolution against the Imamate regime and the establishment of the republican regime in 1962.
In addition, mines, explosives, and war remnants continue to claim the lives of victims and increase the number of people who are partially or completely disabled as a result, all in full view of the concerned local and international parties.
In parallel, the suffering of more than three million displaced persons, most of whom are women and children, continues in light of the government’s failure and international failure to provide for their humanitarian needs, and in light of the United Nations’ suspension of a number of its service programs, such as food and financial aid that was provided to more than 30,000 beneficiaries.
There has been no improvement in the field of press freedoms and freedom of expression in various Yemeni regions, whether under the authority of the government, the control of the Houthi militia, the control of the Transitional Council in the south, or in areas south of Al-Hodeidah and the western coast of Taiz Governorate, where forces loyal to the United Arab Emirates are stationed.
Rights Radar for Human Rights has called on the United Nations and relevant international organizations to exert more pressure on the conflicting parties to prevent any violations of human rights, particularly those related to freedom of opinion and expression.
Rights Radar has stressed the need for sufficient and necessary pressure on the Houthi militia to limit its violations and attacks on civilians, whether by targeting residential areas or through mines that kill civilians and endanger their lives.
Rights Radar has also called on the United Nations, represented by its envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, to play a more effective role in engaging with the conflicting parties, especially the Houthi militia, which tops all lists of violations. This role should be reflected in the protection of public and private rights and freedoms in the areas under their control.
Additionally, Rights Radar has called on the Houthi militia to respect the covenants and treaties that criminalize human rights violations and to immediately stop all such violations.
Finally, Rights Radar has urged the Yemeni government to take real responsibility for the lives and safety of civilians in its areas of influence and to guarantee freedom of opinion and expression in a way that reflects its practical commitment to international covenants that protect these rights.
Comments 0