The Yemeni government called on the international community to take urgent action to save the lives of employees working in relief and humanitarian work who were kidnapped in prisons and forcibly disappeared in the detention centers of the terrorist Houthi militia.

A statement issued by the Ministry of Human Rights expressed deep concern about the fate of nearly 70 civilian activists, who were kidnapped by the Houthi militia from their homes in early June 2024, including 5 female activists, and more than 18 of them are United Nations employees and workers in international organizations, and more than 50 activists. From civil society organizations, pointing out that these abductees are still forcibly disappeared, and their families have not been able to reach them or know their places of detention, in flagrant violation of their right to life, freedom, and personal security.

The statement stated that the Houthi militia’s record of violations showed that it works to detain the kidnapped people in secret prisons and expose them to types of torture and cruel, degrading and inhuman treatment, including deprivation of food, medicine and sleep and placing them in dark places to force them to make statements and confessions that condemn them, pointing out that The militia violations did not stop there, but were accompanied and followed by the militia’s media platforms promoting misleading information that distorted humanitarian work and the humanitarian roles of the abductees, including accusing them of spying for Israel and America and targeting social beliefs and values.

The statement stressed that these serious violations against detainees also affect their families and communities and leave profound psychological effects on their children, explaining that families who fear for the lives of their children live in a state of anxiety and are exposed to great psychological, social and economic suffering.

The statement indicated that these illegal practices represent a flagrant violation of international human rights law and the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, which protect the rights of civilians in armed conflicts. They also represent a flagrant violation of the Universal Declaration, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, and constitute A grave and dangerous violation that amounts to war crimes and crimes against humanity, requiring its perpetrators to be held accountable before international courts.

The statement called on the media and national, regional and international human rights organizations to shed light on these violations that have exceeded all humanitarian and legal limits, reiterating the call on the United Nations, international mechanisms and the international community, especially the UN Security Council, to take urgent measures to protect detainees.

He added that more than 70 days have passed since their kidnapping without any information about them, there has become great concern about their fate and their lives, calling on all those concerned with protecting human rights in the world to condemn these violations and exert the necessary pressure for the immediate and unconditional release of all detainees. And ensuring that all those responsible for these crimes are held accountable.