- Overview
Under the SAFE program, local partners, the Yemen Coalition for Monitoring Human Rights Violations (YCMHRV, also known as “Rasd”) and the INSAF Center for Rights and Development, have documented 428 cases of human rights violations against children. Cases included severe violations, including all of the six grave violations against children in times of war, as denoted by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), committed by all conflict parties.
The SPARK team’s analysis revealed that killing and maiming of children represented largest number of violations in one category (at 29 percent), followed by child recruitment and abductions. The primary perpetrators were Ansar Allah (the Houthis) (at 69 percent), followed by forces controlled by the internationally recognized government (IRG) and the Southern Transitional Council (STC) (at 23 percent).
These violations were rarely isolated. A number of violations occurred in interconnected patterns, with multiple abuses compounding upon one another, leaving profound and lasting physical, psychological, and social impacts on child victims.
💬 As Motahar Al-Badiji, CEO of Rasd, emphasized:
“Every violation against a child in Yemen is not isolated; it triggers a cascade of suffering — recruitment leads to loss of education, exposure to violence, and risk of death, while attacks on schools and hospitals amplify this cycle. Children are the most vulnerable victims of war, and urgent comprehensive protection and accountability are essential.”
- Interconnected Violations
These interconnected violations represent cases wherein two or more human rights violations are committed simultaneously or as a result of the other. Children are particularly at risk of being subjected to interconnected violations, due to their unique and significant vulnerability. Their dependence and natural nativity increase the likelihood and ease of compounding violations – for instance, like child recruitment, ultimately resulting in their killing on the front lines.
In one of the most severe cases documented, a two-year-old internally displaced girl was subjected to sexual violence and killed by a soldier affiliated with the Security Belt Forces under the STC. Her body was desecrated, later discovered in a garbage dump. Due to military influence, local justice mechanisms failed to hold the perpetrator accountable, prompting the SAFE team to step in. SAFE partner, Rasd, is currently drafting a legal file to submit this case to United Nations (UN) mechanisms in pursuit of justice.
In another case, a Houthi-appointed principal attempted to economically exploit children by making them pay arbitrary monthly school fees. When some children did not pay, the principal prevented them from entering the school by wielding a machine gun, firing warning shots, and blocking the school entrance. Of the documented cases, 47 interconnected violations composed of two or more related abuses were observed. The most frequently interconnected violations were: child recruitment and killing/maiming of children (at 19 percent), followed by child abduction interconnected with torture (at 13 percent).
- Underpinning Interconnected Violations
Child recruitment, displacement, and other direct impacts of the conflict underpin interconnected violations – setting the stage for further abuses to occur. In one case documented by SAFE partners, the perpetrator admitted that he targeted a boy for sexual assault, because of the boy’s displacement and marginalization. In this case, the perpetrator believed that he was more likely to get away with the crime due to these factors.
Moreover, abductions are often accompanied by torture and/or killing. In one case, a disabled girl in Aden was abducted by STC-affiliated soldiers; testimonies revealed that her abductors had carried out multiple child abductions and were suspected of involvement in organ trafficking, highlighting the extreme vulnerability of these children. SAFE partners submitted this case to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), aiming to provide this girl with justice where local remedies and court systems had failed.
Economic hardship compounded the abuse of children, with nearly 90 percent of families pushed toward child recruitment, while 15 percent of children faced systematic exploitation, forced to work and be deprived of benefits or salaries. As Ali Al-Burti, field monitor in Al-Bayda, reported:
“Children are lured into armed conflict with promises of money, weapons, or ideological rewards, only to face combat, abuse, or psychological trauma. Survivors live in fear for themselves and their families, often carrying deep mental scars that affect entire communities.”
Displaced children were also disproportionately affected, representing 29 percent of documented victims. In one particularly harrowing case, a five-year-old boy, displaced from Al-Qaeda-affected areas in Abyan, was sexually assaulted by a soldier in Aden. The soldier, mistakenly perceiving the child as “not a southerner,” used this belief to justify his actions, demonstrating both racial prejudice and the exploitation of the child’s vulnerability.
Najib Al-Shagdari, field monitor in Dhamar, summarized the broader pattern:
“The six grave violations against children — killing, recruitment, sexual violence, attacks on schools and hospitals, kidnapping, and denial of aid — do not happen in isolation. They reinforce one another, creating a web of suffering that jeopardizes the future of entire generations.”
These cases illustrate how grave violations are interconnected, creating compounded trauma that severely impacts children’s safety, development, and well-being.
- Advancing Accountability and Protection for Children
The SAFE team remains at the forefront of advancing accountability and protection for child victims. Utilizing documented information, including medical reports and eyewitness interviews, the SAFE team has preserved evidence for the 428 cases of human rights violations against child victims. This evidence is now being utilized as the basis for investigative reports, analyzing the perpetrators, types, and patterns of violations being committed.
SAFE partners have also submitted three cases to international mechanisms, including the UN CRPD and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to obtain justice where domestic remedies have failed. An additional four legal cases are currently being prepared. A mock trial in Aden highlighted the sexual abuse of a disabled child, exposing how powerful perpetrators evade accountability while pushing for redress for victims. Internationally, DT Institute also continues to guide SAFE partners’ engagement in discussions with key personnel and changemakers, including Human Rights Council (HRC) sessions, 2025 Carter School Peace Week, and high-level embassy meetings. In their communications with key international stakeholders, SAFE partners emphasize the continuing pattern of interconnected violations – and the severe impacts of grave violations against children.
Nationally, the SAFE team continues to hold in-person and virtual meetings with local government representatives to strengthen child protection mechanisms and increase pressure on the IRG. Through these meetings, SAFE partners monitor IRG implementation of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) recommendations related to children. They also coordinated awareness workshops targeting 64 military officials in two camps in Aden, previously known for child recruitment. The workshop worked to decrease violations and promote child protection by increasing understanding among soldiers of grave violations of children and their responsibilities to protect such child victims.
- Scaling the Impact
In addition to collecting evidence of current violations and submitting individual cases for resolution and justice, administered by international mechanisms, DT Institute and SAFE partners continue to look far ahead into the future. In doing so, DT Institute and SAFE partners continue to advocate for the inclusion of children in transitional justice processes as the future of Yemen. These activities include the release of the first policy paper on children and transitional justice, participation in dedicated sessions, and multiple statements issued to the HRC. These efforts are crucial in ensuring that children’s rights and needs remain central to Yemen’s transitional justice and peacebuilding initiatives. SAFE partners provided awareness, psychological, and legal support to more than 600 caregivers and children across four governorates, with special focus on marginalized groups and IDP communities. This support filled a critical gap in relief efforts for Yemeni children, serving as a milestone in child protection and an essential step toward scaling up interventions within the transitional justice process. In parallel, SAFE also engaged in advocacy and pressure on the International Recognize Government to strengthen and expand child protection efforts.
Moreover, the SAFE team continues to maintain an extensive database of violations – primed and ready for use as evidence in legal proceedings, truth commissions, or reconciliation-based reparations programs, once transitional justice processes come to life.
