On Red Hand Day 2025, the Justice4Yemen Pact Coalition reaffirms its commitment to ending the recruitment and use of child soldiers in Yemen. Despite international prohibitions, thousands of Yemeni children continue to be forcibly recruited, trained, and deployed in armed conflict. Reports from the Yemeni Coalition to Monitor Human Rights Violations (Rasd Coalition) indicate that since 2015, 7,171 children have been recruited, 5,552 killed in combat, and 503 remain on active battlefronts. The Houthi group remains a primary perpetrator, using schools, summer camps, and religious institutions to indoctrinate and mobilize children, with recruitment escalating in recent months.

The recruitment of children for war constitutes a crime against humanity and demands urgent international intervention. Justice4Yemen Pact Coalition calls on all parties to the conflict to immediately cease child recruitment, ensure accountability for perpetrators, and implement reintegration programs for affected children. The international community must act decisively to protect Yemen’s children and uphold their fundamental rights to safety, education, and a future free from violence.

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