NEW YORK CITY: The UN Security Council on Wednesday condemned the continued detention by the Houthis in Yemen of UN staff, aid workers and representatives of civil society, and called for their immediate and unconditional release.
In a statement marking the first anniversary of a wave of detentions that began in June 2024, council members expressed deep concern over additional recent arrests and the prolonged captivity of workers from the UN, international and national nongovernmental organizations, and diplomatic missions.
They also condemned the death of a World Food Program employee in Houthi custody on Feb. 10.
The Eid Al-Adha holiday, which began on Thursday evening, will be especially painful for those who are detained and their families, council members said, and they warned that the continuing abductions create fear among humanitarian workers.
Threats to those helping to deliver aid are “unacceptable” and make an already dire humanitarian crisis in Yemen even worse, they added.
The 15-member council called on the Houthis to respect the principles of international humanitarian law, including the provision of “safe, rapid and unimpeded” access to allow humanitarian assistance to reach civilians in need.
Members welcomed ongoing efforts by the UN to secure the safe release of all detainees and reaffirmed their support for the UN’s special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg.
They reiterated their commitment to the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Yemen, and backed a “negotiated, inclusive, Yemeni-led and Yemeni-owned” political process in the country under the auspices of the UN.
The conflict in Yemen has raged since 2014, when the Houthis seized control of the capital, Sanaa, triggering a civil war that has resulted in one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.
