The United Nations adding Houthi militias to its blacklist for groups violating children’s rights has drawn widespread relief among human rights activists and organizations in Yemen, where the Iran-backed militias actively recruit and deploy minors to battlefronts.
For activists, the decision to blacklist Houthis is in its right place as the group is responsible for the death and maiming of thousands of child soldiers deprived of their basic rights to be used as cannon fodder.
On Friday, the UN released a statement for adding Houthis to its 2021 list of violators of children’s rights. It is noteworthy that Houthis were first named on the list in 2007.
The UN annually names and shames countries or groups for killing, injuring or abusing children, abducting or recruiting children, denying aid access for children, or targeting schools and hospitals.
Joining the UN in deploring Houthis, Yemeni activists on Saturday launched a far-reaching online campaign under the slogan “Houthis: The Killers of Children” to demand the international community lists the Iran-aligned group as a terrorist organization.
The campaign also advocates helping ensure Yemeni children enjoy a safe life in which they are given basic rights Houthi militia stripped away from them.
Riyadh Aldubai, an activist and member of the Yemeni Coalition for Human Rights Violations, revealed that Houthis were shamed by the UN in 2007 when armed conflict first started showing in the now war-torn country, but they were re-listed in 2016.
Houthis earned their spot on the blacklist by violating six stipulations of the international community’s Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The Iran-backed militia lured and extorted children to recruit, kidnap, and deploy them to battlefronts.
According to Aldubai, Houthis were listed as class “A” violators of children’s rights because they continue to refuse to present any solution or show initiative to right the wrong they are committing against Yemeni minors.
In contrast, the UN welcomed the Yemeni official state’s commitment to end all forms of child recruitment and to protecting Yemeni kids.
