Minister of Information urges increased international pressure on Houthi militias, escalates issue of abducting NGO workers.

International Sanctions and Legal Action Proposed

Yemen’s Minister of Information, Culture, and Tourism, Muammar Al-Eryani, has made a plea for intensified international pressure on the Houthi militia through the United Nations and permanent members of the Security Council. Al-Eryani’s call to action includes imposing additional sanctions on Houthi leaders, elevating the issue of the kidnapping of international organization workers by journalists and activists in global media, and initiating legal proceedings in international courts to hold those responsible for these crimes accountable. This strategy aims to increase global awareness of the Houthi violations and ensure the safety and rights of the kidnapped individuals.

A Hundred Days of Kidnappings

In a press statement, Al-Eryani highlighted the nearing of a hundred days since the Iran-backed Houthi terrorist militia began a wave of kidnappings. These abductions have targeted over fifty United Nations staff, their agencies, the office of the UN envoy Hans Grundberg, and several international and local organizations operating in the Houthi-controlled capital, Sanaa. Among the kidnapped are three women, all subjected to enforced disappearance, a continuation of the militia’s strategy to pressure and exploit these organizations for their malicious objectives.

Ongoing Abductions and International Law Violations

Al-Eryani pointed out that the Houthi militia had previously kidnapped dozens of UN workers and continues to hold three of them, two since November 2021 and one since August 2023, along with 11 former and current employees of the US Embassy in Yemen and the US Agency for International Development, kidnapped over the past two and a half years. These individuals have been forcibly hidden under mysterious circumstances without charges or the opportunity to contact their families. Al-Eryani stressed that according to international humanitarian law, humanitarian workers are entitled to special protection ensuring their safety and security while performing their duties.

Accusations of International Inaction

The minister accused international positions of ambiguity, which he believes have given the Houthi militia a green light to escalate their repressive actions against international and humanitarian organizations and their local employees, disregarding the catastrophic impact on the already dire economic and humanitarian situation in Houthi-controlled areas. Al-Eryani criticized the international community’s lax stance over the years, which has allowed the militia to storm international organization headquarters, detain employees en masse, accuse them of espionage, and use them as tools for propaganda, pressure, extortion, and bargaining, akin to “terrorist groups.”

Urgent Relocation and Firm International Stance

Al-Eryani renewed his appeal to the United Nations mission, all UN agencies, and international organizations operating in Yemen, as well as the United Nations Mission to Support the Hodeidah Agreement (UNMHA), to immediately relocate their main headquarters to the temporary capital, Aden, and other liberated areas. This move is crucial to ensure a safer and more effective environment for carrying out their humanitarian tasks and protecting the lives of their workers. Additionally, Al-Eryani demanded a decisive international stance against these practices, which blatantly violate international law and humanitarian law, urging for strong, deterrent actions to be taken against the Houthi militia, including designating it as a “global terrorist organization” and pressing for the immediate release of all forcibly detained individuals.

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