Geneva | 9 October 2026
Minister of Human Rights, Mashdal Mohammed, met with the Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Amy Pope, at the organization’s headquarters in Geneva to discuss strengthening cooperation and joint coordination in responding to the needs of displaced persons and protecting migrants in Yemen.
The meeting reviewed the repercussions of waves of internal displacement and the influx of irregular migrants, the challenges facing the humanitarian response, and ways to mobilize international support to meet urgent needs and improve basic services in displacement areas, alongside supporting government efforts to combat human trafficking and protect the most vulnerable groups.
Minister Mashdal praised the humanitarian and relief efforts undertaken by the organization in Yemen and its support for displaced persons and migrants. He reviewed the repercussions of the recent military escalation by the terrorist Houthi militias on the humanitarian and human rights situation, which has resulted in new waves of displacement exceeding 200,000 people from the western coastal areas, Hodeidah, and rural districts of Taiz Governorate, joining more than four million internally displaced persons, including large numbers in camps in Marib, Lahj, Abyan, and Aden.
He pointed to the militias’ targeting of displacement camps and convoys of displaced persons with drones and ballistic missiles, as well as the shortages of water, shelter, food, and healthcare faced by displaced persons in newly established camps, including Al-Firdous Camp in Aden and camps in Lahj and Abyan, amid harsh climatic conditions. He also highlighted the deprivation of thousands of children of their right to education and the need to provide them with healthcare and psychological support.
Regarding migrants, the Minister indicated that the number of African migrants passing through Yemeni territory is estimated at approximately 400,000, reviewing the extortion and violations they face at the hands of gangs and smuggling and human trafficking networks. He warned against the terrorist Houthi militias exploiting their vulnerability and forcibly recruiting them to fight in their ranks.
The Minister reviewed the government’s efforts to reactivate the National Technical Committee for the Prevention and Combating of Human Trafficking and train national personnel, calling on the organization to provide technical and institutional support to strengthen these efforts and assist the relevant institutions in protecting migrants and confronting human trafficking networks.
The Director General of the International Organization for Migration, Amy Pope, expressed her solidarity with the Yemeni people, commending the Yemeni government’s efforts and its facilitation of humanitarian work despite limited resources and economic burdens. She affirmed that the organization is working to increase international attention to the suffering of displaced persons and civilians in Yemen, continue providing assistance on the ground, and engage with major donors to mobilize the necessary funding and address gaps in the humanitarian response.
For his part, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Human Rights, Nabil Abdulhafeedh, stressed the need to accelerate the response to newly displaced persons and provide urgent assistance within the first 72 hours of displacement, particularly dignity kits and emergency shelter. He warned of the widening funding gap and the inadequacy of the international response compared to the scale of humanitarian needs in Yemen.
