YCMHRV Investigative Report: Children of Yemen.. Ongoing Violations

This investigative report, specializing in the inquiry into grave violations against children committed by conflict parties during the conflict in Yemen, forms part of the project to enhance awareness and guarantee the rights of children during the conflict in Yemen (SAFE), executed by the Yemeni Coalition to Monitor Human Rights Violations (YCMHRV) in partnership with the DT Institute. It is a component of a series of specialized reports unveiling violations against children produced by YCMHRV. The focus is on facilitating access to justice as sought within the “Justice for Yemen Pact”.1 The report draws upon information collected by researchers across thirteen Yemeni governorates between February and October 2023, documenting representative samples of violations by all parties to the conflict.

Through verified examples, the report reveals that the children of Yemen have endured nine years of multifarious conflict and suffering, standing under the relentless onslaught of war. The six grave violations, between the announcement of the cease-fire in early April 2022 and the declaration of signing the principles agreement to end the conflict in December 2023, demonstrate the conflict parties’ non-compliance with obligations to protect children as stipulated by international humanitarian law and human rights. The report does not convey the full scale of the atrocities faced by children but merely presents cases that the monitoring team was able to document within a short duration.

YCMHRV investigated 127 violation incidents, encompassing the six grave crimes against children, involving 157 victims, including 26 girls, who were killed, maimed, conscripted, subjected to sexual violence, and abducted. Killings and maiming were the most recorded violations due to excessive weapon use, especially by the Houthi group. The shocking figures of conscription victims stem from the exploitation of the Yemeni families’ economic situation by conflict parties, and propaganda’s role in influencing children, particularly by the Houthis. The low numbers of sexual violence and abducting victims do not reflect reality, as victims and their families, stigmatized in their communities, live in fear and intimidation imposed by the perpetrators, preventing them from responding to the researchers’ inquiries and documentation. The report’s findings indicate that large number of children – approximately 26,761, including 14,457 girls2 – were affected by attacks on schools and hospitals and the obstruction of humanitarian aid by the Houthis.

The report confirms that none of the victims received justice, and the incapacity and division of national justice and accountability mechanisms have encouraged further attacks against children by conflict parties. The report concludes that reducing violations will only be achieved with criminal accountability mechanisms in place. In the context of the continued impunity enjoyed by perpetrators of violations against children, the report calls for the urgent establishment of a human rights court and attorney’s office by the legitimate government, with jurisdiction to examine grave violations against children. “And the wide-scale empowerment and support of local organizations by international agencies and organizations concerned with child protection, to play a central role in documenting violations and providing material and psychological support to child victims.”

An Arabic copy can be found at: