Human rights network demands the immediate release of all teachers kidnapped in Houthi militia prisons

The Yemeni Network for Victims' Associations condemned, on Saturday, the serious violations against teachers in Yemen, especially in areas controlled by the Iranian-backed Houthi militias, calling for the immediate release of the kidnapped teachers.

The association said in a statement on the occasion of World Teachers' Day that Yemeni teachers have been suffering for nearly ten years from the war sparked by the Houthi group, which has led to their deprivation of their financial, civil and political rights, in addition to their exposure to various forms of violence and violations, including arbitrary arrest, kidnapping and forced displacement.

The network stressed that these tragic conditions have led to a sharp deterioration in the level of education in Yemen and the spread of ignorance and illiteracy among young people, calling on the international community and human rights organizations to take urgent action to end these violations and ensure that teachers obtain their full rights.

On World Teachers' Day...Yemeni teachers between violations and harsh living conditions

| More details with Advisor to the Minister of Education, Abdulaziz Sultan pic.twitter.com/T5TF1IUPxM

— Yemen Youth TV Channel (@TVyemenshabab) October 5, 2024

The network also called for the immediate release of all teachers kidnapped from Houthi prisons, the regular payment of their salaries and entitlements to ensure their livelihood stability, the provision of a safe working environment for all teachers to preserve their lives and dignity, and the provision of the necessary support to rehabilitate the educational infrastructure and develop curricula.

The network called on all parties, especially the Houthi group, to assume their responsibilities towards teachers and work to end their suffering, pay their salaries, and provide appropriate conditions for them to perform their vital role in building a prosperous Yemeni society.

Statement text:

Every year on October 5, the world celebrates World Teachers' Day, in appreciation of their pivotal role in building nations and developing societies. However, Yemeni teachers celebrate this occasion while suffering from serious violations of their basic rights, which turns this anniversary into a day of sadness instead of a day of celebration.

For nearly ten years since the war caused by the coup of the Houthi group, classified as a terrorist group, against the state and its institutions, the Yemeni teacher has been suffering from a worsening humanitarian crisis, represented by the deprivation of his financial, civil and political rights, and his exposure to various forms of violence and violations, including arbitrary arrest, kidnapping and forced displacement. These tragic conditions have led to a sharp deterioration in the level of education in Yemen, and the spread of ignorance and illiteracy among the youth.

The Yemeni Network for Victims' Associations, while realizing the extent of the suffering that Yemeni teachers are subjected to, strongly condemns all forms of violations to which they are exposed, especially in areas controlled by the Houthis, and calls on the international community and human rights organizations to take urgent action to end these violations and ensure that teachers obtain their full and undiminished rights.

We, in the Yemeni Network of Victims’ Associations, demand in particular:

1- Paying teachers’ salaries and entitlements on a regular basis, to ensure their livelihood stability and enable them to perform their educational duties to the fullest extent.

2- Providing a safe working environment for teachers, to preserve their lives and dignity, and to encourage them to continue their work.

3- Immediately release all teachers detained and abducted from Houthi prisons and ensure that such violations are not repeated.

4- Providing the necessary support to rehabilitate the educational infrastructure that was affected by the war, and working to develop curricula to suit the needs of Yemeni society.

At the end of this statement, we call on all parties, especially the armed Houthi group, in whose areas of control teachers are subjected to various forms of systematic violations, to assume their responsibilities towards teachers, work hard to end their suffering, pay their salaries, and provide them with the appropriate conditions to perform their vital role in building a prosperous Yemeni society.

Issued by the Yemeni Network for Victims' Associations, October 5, 2024