Berlin | October 20, 2026
Minister of Human Rights Mashdal Mohammed met with representatives of the German-Arab Friendship Association at the Association’s headquarters in Berlin, where they discussed the human rights situation in Yemen and ways to enhance German attention to the humanitarian and human rights issues affecting the Yemeni people.
The Minister expressed his appreciation for the role played by the Association as a long-established institution reflecting the depth of German-Arab relations. He emphasized the importance of strengthening Yemeni-German relations across political, economic, social, and cultural dimensions and expanding communication between the two peoples.
During the meeting, attended by Deputy Minister Nabil Abdulhafeedh and Yemen’s Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany, Loay Al-Eryani, the Minister reviewed the difficult conditions facing Yemen and the violations that the terrorist Houthi militias have continued to commit since 2014, foremost among them child recruitment, forced displacement, enforced disappearance, torture, the targeting of civilians and civilian objects, and the siege of cities.
He addressed the siege of the city of Taiz, explaining that more than one million people are suffering from its consequences, including restrictions on the movement of residents and access to food, medicine, and essential services, which further exacerbate the suffering of patients, children, and families.
Regarding child recruitment, the Minister stated that nearly 5,000 children recruited by the Houthi militias had been killed during military operations, noting that this figure does not include recruited children who were injured. He also discussed the methods of ideological mobilization used by the militias to recruit children and involve them in combat.
Minister Mashdal also addressed the militias’ abduction of international organization personnel, their use of African migrants in combat operations, and their cooperation with the Somali Al-Shabaab movement in human trafficking and arms smuggling. He warned of their threats to maritime navigation and their attempts to expand and seize control of areas along the Red Sea coast, as well as the resulting risks to Yemen and the region.
The Minister affirmed that achieving sustainable peace in Yemen requires enabling the state to exercise its sovereignty, ensuring that weapons remain exclusively under state control, conducting a comprehensive national dialogue, and implementing United Nations Security Council Resolution 2216. He stressed the need to support the Yemeni government in fulfilling its responsibilities and achieving these requirements.
For their part, representatives of the Association expressed their gratitude to the Minister for the information he provided regarding the situation in Yemen, particularly the siege of Taiz, child recruitment, and the methods of ideological mobilization to which children are subjected.
