A delegation from King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) recently attended the 40th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. While there, the center held a seminar on the sidelines of the event entitled “Children and the Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen.” The KSrelief delegation was led by the Head of the center’s Health and Environmental Aid Department, Dr. Abdullah Al Moallem.

The seminar was attended by officials from humanitarian organizations, media representatives and other interested parties.

The seminar tackled the humanitarian situation in Yemen, the assessment of the international community's position on the ongoing crisis there, the obstruction of humanitarian aid access by Houthi groups, and the impact of the humanitarian crisis on children.

Dr. Al Moallem opened the event by explaining that KSrelief provides relief assistance to crisis-affected people around the world, adding that more than 4 million women and 6 million children in Yemen have faced devastating challenges over the past four years due to ongoing human rights violations committed by Houthi militia groups throughout Yemen. 

The KSrelief official also gave an overview of the center’s many contributions to alleviating suffering in Yemen through the hundreds of impartial, multisectoral projects it has implemented throughout the country. One of the most noteworthy projects provided by the center in Yemen, he explained, is its Child Soldiers Rehabilitation Program, which supports child recruits and other children severely traumatized by the conflict to help them to begin to heal and eventually reintegrate into their families and communities.  Physical, psychological, social and educational services are provided by specialists both at the center and after the children have completed the residential portion of the program. 

“We attended this event,” Dr. Al Moallem stated, “to convey to the international community the reality of the suffering of the Yemeni people – particularly among the most vulnerable groups such as women and children – suffering resulting from the illegal practices of the Houthi militias.” He further pointed out that the militias have used child recruits in direct contradiction to all international laws and standards, including the Geneva Convention, the Rome Statute on War Crimes and the International Labor Law.

International health expert Astrid Steckelberger, who attended the seminar, stated that “the humanitarian crisis in Yemen is one of the biggest crises in the world.” She commented that KSrelief has done a great job in Yemen, implementing 328 projects for a total cost of USD 2 billion – the largest financial contribution to the humanitarian crisis there.

International organization representatives attending the seminar also condemned the fact that Houthi groups in Yemen are recruiting and using children in conflict zones, forcing them to carry weapons and fight in clear violation of children’s rights for protection. They called for the international community and the Human Rights Council to take action to protect Yemen’s children.​