– UN, NGOs call for release of Houthi employees
The Iran-backed Houthis have detained dozens of United Nations and humanitarian workers, mostly since June. The latter called on Saturday for their immediate release.
A United Nations vehicle is parked outside as the United Nations special envoy for Yemen meets with local officials in the country’s third city, Taez, February 12, 2024.
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UN agencies and NGOs expressed “grave concern” after the criminal prosecution of many of their employees “arbitrarily detained” by the Houthis in Yemen, and called for their immediate release, in a statement released on Saturday .
The Houthis, supported by Iran, have detained dozens of employees of the United Nations and several humanitarian organizations, most of them since last June.
“We are extremely concerned by reports that the de facto Houthi government has initiated criminal proceedings against a significant number of arbitrarily detained colleagues,” said the statement signed by the heads of UN agencies and NGOs. affected. Houthi authorities have made no comment on the matter.
Among the signatories of the declaration are WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Unesco Director-General Audrey Azoulay, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk and Director Executive Director of Oxfam International, Amitabh Behar.
More than 60 detainees
In June 2024, the Houthis arrested 13 UN staff members, including six employees of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, more than 50 NGO members and an embassy employee.
The Houthis claimed to have arrested members of “a US-Israeli spy network” operating under the cover of humanitarian organizations, allegations categorically denied by the United Nations.
Two other UN human rights staff had already been detained since November 2021 and August 2023 respectively. They are all held incommunicado.
In early August, Houthis stormed the office of the High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), forced staff to hand over the keys and seized documents and property.
The signatories of the declaration renewed on Saturday their “urgent call for the immediate and unconditional release” of all detained employees.
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