The mechanisms and institutions for the protection and care of children in Yemen have collapsed since the Ansar Allah group (the Houthis) seized control of the capital, Sana’a, on September 21, 2014. This was followed by the escalation of the armed conflict as the group expanded its control over most of the country’s most densely populated governorates. This led to the formation of armed resistance movements against the Houthi expansion, and then the intervention of the Saudi-led Arab coalition in the war on March 26, 2015 From this point, rates of violations, serious crimes, and other forms of exploitation and abuse against children have increased. The ferocity and continuation of the armed conflict for nearly eight years have inflicted serious harm on approximately 15 million children. This is a natural consequence of the weakness of state institutions and the control of security, judicial, educational, health, and humanitarian aid institutions by armed militias with diverse agendas. Crimes have been committed against child protection and care institutions, including repression, closures, confiscations, the killing, kidnapping, and torture of dozens of human rights defenders. Funding has become difficult due to its vetting and classification based on loyalty to the controlling party on the ground. Furthermore, there is a sharp polarization aimed at directing the activities of human rights organizations to serve the parties to the conflict instead of protecting and caring for victims. Political, social, and geographical divisions, the collapse of the economy and security, and the vulnerability of the majority of groups Society, and the Yemeni private sector’s passivity in protecting human rights, these factors and others have caused the complete or partial cessation of activities and services of most governmental and non-governmental institutions. As a result, Yemeni children find themselves exposed to the elements, lacking protection and care, leading to an unprecedented increase in crimes committed against them and a rise in impunity.
It is as if this war was specifically designed against the children of Yemen.
