Yemeni Children Suffer Over 36,000 Violations in Decade, Report Finds

A new human rights report has documented 36,179 violations and crimes against children in Yemen, attributed to the Houthi militia, between January 2017 and September 2026.

Titled "Yemeni Children: From Schools to Battlefronts," the report by the Yemeni Network for Rights and Freedoms paints a grim picture of children's conditions across the country. It details incidents of killing, injury, abduction, enforced disappearance, torture, rape, displacement, recruitment, and deprivation of education, healthcare, food, and water.

According to the report, 5,495 children, including 712 infants, were killed, and 3,972 were injured by snipers, indiscriminate shelling, mines, and other remnants of war. The network also recorded 317 cases of abduction and enforced disappearance, with 117 children subjected to torture in detention, nine of whom reportedly died from torture. Additionally, 18 cases of psychological and physical torture and 53 cases of child rape were documented.

The report further states that monitoring teams documented the deaths of 9,728 child soldiers, based on figures released by the Houthis for children whose funerals were publicly held. Another 12,730 child soldiers were recorded as injured, with their data verified through hospital records in several governorates, including Sana'a, Al Mahwit, Dhamar, Al Hudaydah, Hajjah, Ibb, Taiz, and Al Bayda. The network acknowledged that difficulties in accessing certain areas due to the conflict hindered the determination of the exact number of recruited children, noting that international reports suggest the Houthis have recruited over 42,000 children. The recruitment and involvement of children in military operations constitute a grave violation of international law, the report warns, highlighting the continuing high rate of recruitment.

The violations and wartime conditions have led to the displacement of 49,965 children, denying many access to shelter, education, healthcare, and social protection. In the educational sector, the network estimates that approximately 4.5 million children are deprived of education due to the war's repercussions, including the use of educational facilities as military barracks and training camps. The report warns that the combination of disrupted education, child recruitment, and ideological and military indoctrination threatens to create an entire generation deprived of educational opportunities, protection, and stability.

The economic deterioration has pushed over 4 million children into the labor market to support their families. Network teams have documented 37 child deaths due to starvation in Houthi-controlled areas in the last five months. The report concludes that the documented violations are not isolated incidents but reflect recurring patterns of violations against children's rights to life, safety, education, health, food, shelter, and protection from recruitment, violence, and exploitation.

The network has called upon the international community, human rights organizations, and humanitarian organizations to act to halt these violations against children. It urged them to exert pressure on the Houthis and utilize available legal and diplomatic mechanisms through the United Nations and the Security Council to ensure the protection of children and compel conflict parties to adhere to international law.