In the main section: Advocacy News
Press Release Issued for Publication: May 24, 2026
The Seyaj Organization for Child Protection addressed urgent and independent human rights and legal memoranda and reports to His Excellency the President of the Presidential Leadership Council, His Excellency the Prime Minister, His Excellency the Minister of the Interior, and His Excellency the Attorney General of the Republic, demanding that decisive sovereign and legal measures be taken to dismantle systematic networks of sexual exploitation and extortion targeting children and women in the interim capital, Aden.
At the outset of its memorandum issued today, Sunday, the organization expressed its appreciation for the swift and positive response from the Office of the President of the Republic, the Attorney General, and the Minister of the Interior to its previous report No. (14/SJO/2026) dated May 22. It emphasized that the gravity of the field data and recent human rights indicators necessitated raising the bar for institutional action to protect victims and safeguard the dignity of society.
“Siyaj” explained that the information, consistent testimonies, and documentation received by its legal departments reveal human atrocities that transcend mere criminal offenses, classifying them as “grave crimes against humanity and childhood.” It noted that these violations are perpetrated through organized and well-funded human trafficking and exploitation networks possessing logistical capabilities that enable them to infiltrate society and target the most vulnerable groups, including underage girls and children. And women.
The memoranda addressed to the highest authorities stated:
In its letter to the aforementioned authorities, Siyaj stated: “The available field indicators prove the existence of collusion and direct supervision by some influential political and security officials and leaders in the interim capital, Aden, who have exploited their public positions and authorities to provide cover and protection for criminals, ensure their impunity, and issue illegal orders to release the violators.”
Based on the constitutional and moral responsibility stipulated in national laws and international conventions ratified by Yemen, Siyaj, in its memoranda addressed to the officials—each according to their jurisdiction and legal authority—specified three main demands that are unacceptable Postponement:1- Immediate Dismissal and Administrative Removal: The immediate removal of all security leaders and officials in Aden who have proven incapable of maintaining security, or who have proven complicit in and covered up for these networks, as a precautionary measure to prevent the exploitation of influence to tamper with evidence or pressure victims.
2- Public Judicial Accountability and Removal of Immunities: Directing the Specialized Criminal Prosecution to open a comprehensive investigation and refer all those involved to swift and public trials, whether they are principal perpetrators or accomplices in covering up, facilitating the crime, or obstructing justice.
3- Independent National Investigation Committee: Forming a national investigation committee with broad participation from human rights civil society, to dismantle the structure of these networks, track and dry up their sources of funding, and ban their influence.
Siyaj concluded its statement by emphasizing that The continued presence of implicated or incompetent security leaders in their positions after this official report directly transfers legal and political responsibility to the highest levels of the executive and security authorities in the country. Siyaj emphasized that delaying the implementation of deterrent and public measures removes the matter from the description of “administrative negligence” and places the authorities in the circle of “full criminal and political complicity” in the crime; Since local legislation and international conventions on the rights of the child do not absolve the official who knows of a violation and remains silent about it, the organization considers the protection of children in Aden to be the last line of defense for what remains of state institutions. It is worth noting that the organization sent official copies, along with supporting documents, of these memoranda to the Supreme Anti-Corruption Authority, the Ministry of Human Rights, and the Supreme Judicial Council, to ensure oversight and full institutional and judicial integration for the protection of children.
