The Ministry of Human Rights, on the occasion of World Humanitarian Day, affirms its deep appreciation for humanitarian workers in Yemen, foremost among them Yemeni humanitarian workers who continue to carry out their humanitarian duty in serving citizens and alleviating their suffering, despite the serious challenges and risks surrounding their work.
The Ministry values the efforts made by the Supreme Committee for Relief and Humanitarian Action in coordinating relief and humanitarian efforts and facilitating the delivery of assistance to those in need. It also commends the significant humanitarian role undertaken by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre through its various programs and projects, which have contributed to supporting humanitarian and service sectors and alleviating the suffering of millions of Yemenis in different governorates.
Since June 2024, the terrorist Houthi militia has escalated its campaign against United Nations personnel and humanitarian workers by raiding the homes and offices of staff members, abducting and detaining UN employees and workers with international and local organizations, and storming the premises of a number of humanitarian organizations. A number of these employees remain detained to this day, with some having been held for more than two years.
The practices and violations of the terrorist Houthi militia, along with the ongoing restrictions and interference it imposes on humanitarian work, have led a number of humanitarian organizations to withdraw, suspend, or reduce their activities in areas under its control. This has directly affected the level of humanitarian response, exacerbated the suffering of citizens, and increased humanitarian needs in those areas.
The Ministry affirms that these developments come amid previous and ongoing practices in which the terrorist Houthi militia has interfered in the distribution of humanitarian assistance, looted and diverted part of it, and deprived eligible beneficiaries of fair access to such aid, resulting in only a limited portion of assistance reaching those in need. The militia’s escalation against humanitarian workers and organizations has contributed to depriving citizens even of that limited amount of assistance that had been reaching them and has further increased the fragility of their humanitarian and living conditions.
The Ministry condemns these violations in the strongest terms and affirms that the terrorist Houthi militia’s targeting of humanitarian workers, storming of organizations’ premises, obstruction of their activities, and interference in their work constitute a blatant violation of the rules of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, and directly affect the ability of organizations to reach civilians and provide assistance to those in need.
In this regard, the Ministry of Human Rights calls on the international community, the United Nations, and international organizations to take a practical and firm position to secure the unconditional release of all humanitarian workers detained by the terrorist Houthi militia, halt the targeting of humanitarian workers and organizations, ensure a safe and neutral environment for their work, and support the Government’s measures aimed at holding those responsible for these violations accountable.
The Ministry affirms that humanitarian workers are not parties to the conflict, that humanitarian assistance is not a tool for blackmail or bargaining, and that the detention of workers in this field, or the terrorist Houthi militia’s use of humanitarian assistance as a means of pressure and control, cannot become acceptable or normalized, given the direct and serious consequences this has for millions of civilians in need of assistance.
Ministry of Human Rights
Republic of Yemen
19 August 2026
