Human Rights Watch calls on the Houthi militia to quickly evacuate the headquarters of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Sana'a

Human Rights Watch called on the Iranian-backed Houthi militia to quickly evacuate the headquarters of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Sana'a, which it has occupied since the beginning of August.

“On August 3, Houthi forces raided the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, and ‘forcibly seized documents and property,’ according to High Commissioner Volker Türk,” said Nico Jafarnia, Yemen and Bahrain researcher at the organization, in a statement on Friday.

"The office remained under Houthi occupation, despite calls from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and others for the Houthis to vacate the building and return all stolen assets," she added.

The statement stressed, "The Houthis must immediately vacate the Commission's headquarters, unconditionally release all UN and civil society staff, and return all assets and property."

The statement indicated that "since May 31, the armed Houthi group that controls a large part of Yemen has arrested employees of various United Nations agencies, international organizations, and local non-governmental organizations, and because the Houthis have not disclosed the place of arbitrary detention of the detainees, Human Rights Watch classified them as enforced disappearances."

“As of July 7, the Houthis have arrested more than 72 people, including 13 UN staff, including six from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights,” said a civil society worker who tracks the arrests.

The statement added, "Since 2021, the Houthis have also arbitrarily detained two other staff members of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and several former employees of the US Embassy in Sana'a. They remain in detention."

“The Houthi campaign against UN agencies and civil society offices comes at a time when Yemen is in dire need of humanitarian assistance as the country faces multiple devastating crises, with more than half of Yemen’s population lacking adequate access to food and water. The Houthis’ obstruction of aid has also exacerbated a cholera outbreak, which has resulted in at least 95,000 suspected cases and killed at least 258 people in the past few months,” the international human rights organization said.

“In addition, recent floods in Houthi-controlled territory have killed dozens of people, injured hundreds more, damaged homes and infrastructure, and displaced thousands of people,” she added.

The organization called on the Houthi de facto authority to "fully fulfill their obligations under international human rights law and provide life-saving services to people living in areas under their control."