Houthis Sign UN Plan to End Recruitment of Child Soldiers

Houthi child soldier mounting a military vehicle, Asharq Al-Awsat
Houthi child soldier mounting a military vehicle, Asharq Al-Awsat
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Houthis Sign UN Plan to End Recruitment of Child Soldiers

Houthi child soldier mounting a military vehicle, Asharq Al-Awsat
Houthi child soldier mounting a military vehicle, Asharq Al-Awsat

The United Nations announced on Monday that the Iranian-backed Houthi group has signed an “action plan” with the international organization to stop the recruitment of children, who have fought by the thousands during the country's seven years of civil war.

The UN says nearly 3,500 children have been verified as recruited and deployed in Yemen's civil war, but the number of child soldiers drafted by Houthis could be much larger.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said that more than two weeks after reaching a truce, the Houthi group signed a plan of action with the UN to “protect children and prevent grave violations against them in the context of the armed conflict.”

The action plan completely bans the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict, including in support roles.

Dujarric said the Houthis committed to identifying children in their ranks and releasing them within six months.

It is noteworthy that the Yemeni internationally recognized government has made similar pledges in documents signed since 2014.

The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, David Gressly saw the plan as “a step in the right direction toward protecting Yemen’s children.”

“The UN is committed to children’s welfare and helping the Sanaa authorities and forces they control turn the plan into action starting now,” he said.

Virginia Gamba, the UN's top official looking out for children in war zones, called the Houthis' move “a positive and encouraging step,” but she noted that “the most difficult part of the journey starts now.”

“The action plan must be fully implemented and lead to tangible actions for the improvement of the protection of children in Yemen,” Gamba, who signed in New York as a witness to the Houthis’ commitment, said in a statement.

According to the action plan, Houthis would work in close cooperation with the UN task force on monitoring and reporting on grave violations against children in Yemen, and in cooperation with relevant United Nations agencies and departments, and international and local civil society partners.

The plan has opened the door to addressing Yemen’s urgent humanitarian and economic needs while also creating a genuine opportunity to restart Yemen’s political process.

Gamba called on all parties to the conflict to use the opportunity of the current truce to include child protection provisions in ongoing peace negotiations.

She reiterated the availability of the UN to support the Houthis and other Yemeni parties in measures reinforcing the protection of children from the ravages of hostilities.

“Ultimately, obtaining lasting peace is the best way to protect children in Yemen and should be the first objective of all parties to the conflict in the country,” the senior UN official emphasized.

At the same time, UNICEF Representative Philippe Duamelle described the signing as “an important milestone” for Yemen’s children “whose lives have been so horrifically affected by the conflict.

“We look forward to the full implementation of the Action Plan and to continue working with all parties for the protection and wellbeing of children in Yemen,” Duamelle added.



Sudan's RSF, Allies Sign Charter for Rival Government

The Sudan war has uprooted more than 12 million people and caused what the United Nations calls the world's worst hunger and displacement crises - AFP
The Sudan war has uprooted more than 12 million people and caused what the United Nations calls the world's worst hunger and displacement crises - AFP
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Sudan's RSF, Allies Sign Charter for Rival Government

The Sudan war has uprooted more than 12 million people and caused what the United Nations calls the world's worst hunger and displacement crises - AFP
The Sudan war has uprooted more than 12 million people and caused what the United Nations calls the world's worst hunger and displacement crises - AFP

Sudan's Rapid Support Forces and its allies have agreed to form a parallel government, they said Sunday, despite warnings such a move could further fragment the war-ravaged country.

"The charter has been signed," Najm al-Din Drisa, spokesman of the United Civil Forces, one of the signatories, told AFP.

The parties to the agreement, inked behind closed doors in Nairobi, said the charter establishes a "government of peace and unity" in rebel-controlled areas of the northeast African country.

The move comes nearly two years into a devastating war with the regular army that has uprooted more than 12 million people and caused what the United Nations calls the world's largest hunger and displacement crises.
Among those who agreed to it was a faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu, which controls parts of the South Kordofan and Blue Nile states in the country's south.

Abdel Rahim Daglo, deputy and brother of RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo -- who was notably absent -- also signed.

The charter, seen by AFP, calls for "a secular, democratic, decentralized state based on freedom, equality, and justice, without bias toward any cultural, ethnic, religious, or regional identity".

It also outlines plans for a "new, unified, professional, national army" with a new military doctrine that "reflects the diversity and plurality characterizing the Sudanese state".

The proposed government aims to end the war, ensure unhindered humanitarian aid and integrate armed groups into a single, national force.

The war, originally triggered by disputes over integrating the RSF into the military, has killed tens of thousands, with both sides accused of atrocities.

Last month, the US determined the RSF had committed genocide in the western region of Darfur.

The conflict has torn the country in two, with the army controlling the north and east and the RSF holding nearly all of Darfur and swathes of the south.

The army is currently on the verge of recapturing the capital Khartoum, after surging through central Sudan and regaining territory this year.

In its alliance with the SPLM-N, the RSF side now controls more of the south and has border access to Libya, Chad, the Central African Republic, South Sudan and Ethiopia.

A spokesman for UN chief Antonio Guterres warned the move could "increase the fragmentation of the country and risk making this crisis even worse".

But the charter's signatories denied any intentions to divide the country.

Alaa El-Din Nuqd, a signatory representing professional unions, said the proposed government would benefit people in RSF-held areas "who have been cut off from essential services".

Nuqd said the charter was a step toward "protecting the dignity" of war-hit civilians.

Analysts say the move is aimed at strengthening the RSF after their recent battlefield setbacks.

Sudanese political analyst Kholood Khair said the RSF's ultimate goals were to acquire an air force, facilitate humanitarian aid to areas under its control and secure a stronger negotiation position.

"They want to go into mediations as a government, not a militia," she told AFP.

However, any arms sales to the potential government would still be in violation of a Darfur embargo which the United Nations has recommended expanding to cover all of Sudan.