September 2020 – In a joint statement to the UN Human Rights Council, nine international civil society organizations, including Watchlist, call on UN Member States to urgently address the humanitarian crisis in Yemen and its impact on the most vulnerable populations, and call for renewal and strengthening of the mandate of the Group of Eminent Experts.
After nearly six years of conflict, the war in Yemen has caused the deaths of nearly a quarter-million people. More than 10,000 children are believed to have been killed and maimed in the conflict. All parties to the conflict have been reported to have recruited and used children for military purposes, some as young as eight. Targeted attacks on schools, hospitals and health care workers as well as damages to critical water systems threaten the support Yemeni need to protect themselves and survive. Between 2015 and 2019, an average of one attack on education was reported each day in Yemen. With schools closed due to COVID-19, 7.8 million children are denied access to education. All parties to conflict have taken myriad steps to control and politicize access to lifesaving humanitarian assistance and movement of humanitarian personnel.
Read the joint statement on the urgent need to address the humanitarian crisis in Yemen: https://watchlist.org/wp-content/uploads/hrc45-id-on-yemen-oral-statement-final-1.pdf
