A recent report issued by the United Nations Secretary General António Guterres and presented to Security Council found that during the reporting period, the country task force verified 5,539 grave violations against 2,422 children (1,997 boys, 425 girls).
The report, the fourth of its kind on the situation of children and armed conflict in Yemen which covers the period from the period from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2023, added that the denial of humanitarian access continued to be the most verified violation (2,806), followed by killing and maiming (1,941) and recruitment and use (564); other grave violations accounted for 228 of the total.
The report found that Most verified grave violations were attributed to the Houthi rebels (2,850, 51 per cent), unidentified perpetrators (1,499, 27 per cent), the Yemen Armed Forces and affiliated armed forces and groups (1,000, 18 per cent) and the Coalition (183).
The report stated that the country task force continued to engage with the Government of Yemen to facilitate the implementation of the 2014 action plan and the road map adopted in 2018 on ending and preventing the recruitment and use of children.
While the number of grave violations has decreased, the UNSG remain concerned by the continued recruitment and use of children.
He urged all parties to the armed conflict to release all children and encouraged all parties to facilitate the socioeconomic reintegration of children affected by the conflict.
He also remained alarmed by the high number of children killed and maimed, including by landmines and explosive remnants of war, mortar and artillery shelling, air strikes, gunshots and crossfire between armed forces and groups, as well as instances of children being run over by military vehicles.
The UNSG called upon all parties to the conflict to allow the unimpeded access of United Nations personnel to children held in detention facilities of any kind, including recruitment centers and military barracks, as part of efforts to verify, release and reintegrate them into their families.