30,000 violations committed against Yemeni children, said a rights group
Children’s rights have been violated thousands of times by all the warring parties in war-torn Yemen, Sam Organization for Rights and Liberties said in a report on Friday.
On the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression, the Geneva-based rights group said it had documented over 30,000 violations of children’s rights, including killing, forced recruitment, abduction, arbitrary detention, and denied access to education and health.
“Figures show that the warring parties have committed more than 30000 violations against children, 70 % of which carried out by the Houthi rebels, 15% by the Arab coalition, 5% by the legitimate government, and 10% by other parties,” Sam said.
Sam reiterated that Yemeni children, especially those living in the seven-year-besieged city of Taiz, Yemen’s third-largest city, are deprived of their basic rights.
The human rights watchdog said it had documented the death of over 5,700 children since the outbreak of the war, many of them died in the city of Taiz, which is besieged by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
According to the rights group, 1549 children have been killed by snipers, landmines, and indiscriminate shelling on residential areas.
Sam accused the Houthi militia of recruiting 20,000 child soldiers, holding the Houthi group accountable for 797 cases of abduction of a total of 800 children who have been abducted by the warring parties.
The human rights watchdog called on the international community to assume its responsibility and practice pressure on the warring parties to stop thousands of violations against children in Yemen.