Yemen

Four parties to conflict are listed in the annexes of the Secretary-General’s (SG) 2022 annual report on children and armed conflict (CAAC) for recruiting and using children. Of these, the Houthis (who call themselves Ansar Allah) are also listed for killing and maiming children and attacks on schools and hospitals. Also in this report, the SG delisted Yemeni Government Forces for recruiting and using children “conditional upon the finalization of all pending action plan activities and the continued decrease in the recruitment and use of children.” In November, the Security Council will receive its monthly briefing on Yemen. On October 2, the truce which had been in place since April, expired despite extensive efforts to secure its renewal. During the six months the truce was in place, child casualties decreased 34 percent, with two-thirds of child casualties during this time caused by landmines and unexploded ordnance. On October 7, one year after the termination of the mandate of the Group of Eminent Experts (GEE), the UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution on Yemen which failed to establish an independent and impartial monitoring and investigative mechanism despite extensive civil society calls for such a mechanism. The Security Council should:

• Reiterate its call on parties to reinstate the truce and to urgently work towards a comprehensive and inclusive peace process that includes meaningful child participation and protection measures, pursuant to SCR 2427 (2018) and drawing on the Practical Guidance for Mediators;
• Call on all parties to fully and swiftly implement their respective action plans and other concrete commitments to end and prevent grave violations against children, including the Government of Yemen’s 2014 action plan to end and prevent recruitment and use and 2018 roadmap, the Coalition’s 2019 memorandum of understanding and related program of activities, and the Houthi’s 2022 action plan; and urge all parties to conflict who have not yet done so to sign and implement action plans with the UN to end and prevent grave violations;
• Urge all parties to facilitate immediate, safe, and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid to children and other civilians in need; and call for increased efforts to identify and remove landmines and unexploded remnants of war and to hold perpetrators of all violations and abuses against children accountable, including through timely, independent, and systematic investigations, and, as appropriate, prosecution and conviction;
• Call on all parties to swiftly and fully implement the recommendations of the Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict (SCWG-CAAC), as elaborated in its third conclusions on Yemen; support efforts to ensure sustainable financial resources for child protection activities and programs in Yemen, including for the implementation of warring parties’ commitments and of the SCWG-CAAC conclusions.

The United Kingdom is the lead country on Yemen.

This information is based on Watchlist’s Children and Armed Conflict Monthly Update: November 2022.

Year listed: 2011
Action Plans signed: Yemen Armed Forces – recruitment and use of children (May 2014)
Sanctions Committee: 2140 Sanctions Committee (Current Chair: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines)
Secretary-General’s reports on CAAC in Yemen: 2021; 2019; 2013
Security Council Working Group conclusions on Yemen: 2020; 2013