War crimes and human rights violations, committed by all warring parties, have been widespread throughout the Yemeni civil war. This includes the two main groups involved in the ongoing conflict: forces loyal to the current Yemeni president, Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi (supported by the Saudi-Arabia-led coalition), and Houthis and other forces supporting Ali Abdullah Saleh, the former Yemeni president. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant have also carried out attacks in Yemen. The Saudi-led coalition, backed by the United States and other nations, has also been accused of violating human rights and breaking international law, especially in regards to airstrikes that repeatedly hit civilian targets.
The use of force by these groups has exacerbated the humanitarian crisis situation in Yemen, as critical infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed in attacks. In addition to the attacks, blockades of critical resources, such as fuel, to Yemen by Saudi Arabia have hindered the transport of food in Yemen, and the ability of civilians to travel to locations where there are adequate medical facilities.
In August 2018, a report by UN experts said all parties to the conflict may have committed war crimes, including the governments of Yemen, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, and the Houthis. The UN described the conflict as the world's worst humanitarian crisis. The report documented 6,475 deaths in the conflict, but estimated the true number was significantly higher. The report criticized Saudi-led airstrikes and accused parties of unlawful violations such as "deprivation of the right to life, arbitrary detention, rape, torture, enforced disappearances and child recruitment." In September 2020, another UN report said the combatant parties in Yemen continue to ignore international law and exhibit little regard for human rights. It went on to accuse the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and the United States of prolonging the conflict by supplying the country with arms. The situation in Yemen has been described as "one of the worst crises in the world" by the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen.
Legal framework Yemen and the Saudi-led coalition are parties to Common Article 3 of the 1949 Geneva Conventions and an Additional Protocol on the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts, which is binding on all groups party to a conflict, and seeks to ensure that forces undertake precautions to avoid hitting civilian and medical targets. Under the Protocol on the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts, parties to a conflict must not attack "[m]edical and religious personnel", "[m]edical units and transports", and "[t]he civilian population and individual civilians".Protocol II, Articles 9, 11, and 13(1) Customary international humanitarian law also prohibits indiscriminate attacks in international and non-international conflicts.
War crimes by regional groups
Regional groups have been accused of indiscriminate attacks, often resulting in the deaths of civilians, and at times, of limiting the ability of civilians to import goods and arbitrarily detaining protesters. The rights to life and to security of person, not to be arbitrarily deprived of one's property, and not to be arbitrarily detained are protected by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and can be argued to have been breached by these regional groups.
Houthis
2015–2016 According to Amnesty International, members of the pro-Hadi and Houthi factions have often attacked each other from residential areas, which places civilians in danger of becoming caught up in the fighting. Some victims of these attacks have been children, who were caught up in conflict in Aden, as a result of the forces not ensuring that civilians would not be harmed, and using weapons such as unguided rockets, which can be inaccurate, especially in residential areas. These attacks have been said to violate international law, as the forces have often not taken sufficient precautions to ensure the safety of civilians, particularly in residential areas. In addition to the use of rockets, Houthis have been accused of laying landmines, which can gravely endanger civilians. The use of these mines has alarmed human rights groups, the use of anti-personnel mines was banned in Yemen as a result of the Mine Ban Treaty. Members of local human rights groups have reported finding 1,170 unexploded mines in around a month. Human Rights Watch stated that pro-Houthi fighters may have committed war crimes when two women were killed in Yemen and aid workers were arrested for two weeks.
According to Amnesty international annual report 2015–2016, Houthis and allied forces loyal to former President Saleh have expanded their arbitrary arrests, detentions and abductions of government supporters, activists, and human rights defenders. The international organisation said that many detainees were held in an inappropriate and unofficial detention center. In October, Armed men belonging to Houthi militia arrested at least 25 men while attending a meeting at Ibb hotel. Most of them were released later after being tortured.
There are concerns around freedom of speech in Houthi controlled areas, after reports of arbitrary detention of protestors and activists emerged. Journalists have also been kidnapped by Houthi and other forces, and the Committee to Protect Journalists has called for an investigation into the treatment of journalists in Yemen.
In addition to accusations of indiscriminately firing on Yemeni civilians, attacks on Saudi Arabian civilians have been attributed to the Houthis. Rockets allegedly fired by Houthis killed two Saudi Arabian girls in late August 2016, and injured five others. Some Saudi Arabian locals have expressed the view that these attacks may be the Houthis exerting pressure on the Saudi Arabian government to end the war.
2017–2019 On 17 March 2017, Houthi forces launched a missile at a mosque, which killed at least 22 pro-government worshippers. That same month, Human Rights Watch "documented 62 apparently unlawful coalition airstrikes, some of which may amount to war crimes, that have killed nearly 900 civilians, and documented seven indiscriminate attacks by Houthi-Saleh forces in Aden and Taizz that killed 139 people, including at least eight children.""Yemen: Attack on Refugee Boat Likely War Crime". Human Rights Watch. 26 March 2017.
The United Nations World Food Programme has accused the Houthis of diverting food aid and illegally removing food lorries from distribution areas, with rations sold on the open market or given to those not entitled to it. The WFP has also warned that aid could be suspended to areas of Yemen under the control of Houthi rebels due to "obstructive and uncooperative" Houthi leaders that have hampered the independent selection of beneficiaries. WFP spokesman Herve Verhoosel stated "The continued blocking by some within the Houthi leadership of the biometric registration ... is undermining an essential process that would allow us to independently verify that food is reaching ... people on the brink of famine". The WFP has warned that "unless progress is made on previous agreements we will have to implement a phased suspension of aid". The Norwegian Refugee Council has stated that they share the WPF frustrations and reiterate to the Houthis to allow humanitarian agencies to distribute food.
On 1 September 2019, the Houthis were reported to have used human shields during the Dhamar airstrike by putting detainees near weapons storage facilities.
On 7 October 2019, Yemeni health officials said an explosive device blasted in Wadi Nakhla, Hudaydah, killing at least four children, and wounding two others. The officials blamed Houthi rebels for the blast.
2020–present On 30 June 2020, a report by Yemeni human rights group Mwatana documented since May 2016, more than 1,600 cases of arbitrary detentions, 770 forced disappearances, 344 cases of torture and at least 66 deaths in unofficial prisons. The report stated that Houthis were responsible for most abuses. It blamed them for 350 forced disappearances, 138 incidents of torture, and 27 deaths in detention, while UAE-backed forces, including the Southern Transitional Council, were responsible for 327 disappearances, 141 cases of torture, and 25 deaths in detention. The report blamed forces loyal to the Saudi-backed Yemeni government for 65 cases of torture and over 24 deaths.
On 14 September 2020, Human Rights Watch wrote that Houthis have a "particularly egregious record of obstructing aid agencies from reaching civilians in need".
Three leaders of the Houthi movement were to be designated as the Specially Designated Global Terrorists by the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. This announcement of January 2021 raised concerns amongst the aid workers and diplomats, who pointed that the move would create problems in the peace process and in providing aid in Yemen.
Use of child soldiers In January 2022, AP News reported that U.N. experts said in a new report that nearly 2,000 children recruited by Yemen's Houthi rebels died on the battlefield between January 2020 and May 2021, and the Iranian-backed rebels continue to hold camps and courses encouraging youngsters to fight. In the report to the U.N. Security Council circulated Saturday, the experts said they investigated some summer camps in schools and a mosque where the Houthis disseminated their ideology and sought to recruit children fight for them against the internationally recognized government of Yemen.
Support by Iran Iran has been accused of supporting Houthis by supplying them with military aid and resources. Iran has denied these accusations. Iran was also named by a 2020 UN report as one of the many countries exacerbating Yemen's humanitarian crisis.
Monopoly over Humanitarian operations through SCMCHA In 2019, the Houthis established the Supreme Council for the Management and Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and International Cooperation (SCMCHA), as a successor to the "National Authority for the Management and Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Response" (NAMCHA), which had been created by them also in mid-October 2017. SCMCHA is a Houthi-controlled body overseeing humanitarian aid in areas under their control. According to the Arab Center Washington DC, local civil society actors and humanitarian workers have expressed concerns regarding SCMCHA's role. Many have reported that the organisation's primary functions include gathering intelligence on independent humanitarian groups, imposing restrictions on local and international aid organisations, and deducting funds from international aid allocations. SCMCHA maintained a monopoly over humanitarian activities in Houthi-controlled areas, requiring civil society groups to adhere to Houthi regulations and operate under strict supervision. Furthermore, according to Crown Center for Middle East Studies, SCMCHA also exercised authority over staff appointments across civil society, including in INGOs. International humanitarian organisations have criticised SCMCHA's practices. In February 2020, a dispute arose between the Houthis and UN agencies after Houthi authorities demanded a 2% tax on all UN humanitarian programmes. The dispute led to a temporary suspension of aid by international donors, prompting the Houthis to abandon the taxation plan, which allowed aid to resume.