Over the past nine months, the Houthi and Saleh militias have recruited 176 children, all under 15, to fight in the armed conflict in Yemen, either directly or as assistants to professional fighters in the battlefield. Al-Riyadh Arabic newspaper has obtained the results of a series of investigations carried out by the National Commission to Investigate Alleged Violations to Human Rights in Yemen. Here are some excerpts from the report, detailing the most prominent cases of children killed as a result of rebel actions: The rebels lured the family of a 14-year-old child into joining one of their centers in a village in Dhamar Governorate. They deceived the family into believing that the child would be enrolled in cultural courses related to the war, and that they would receive a monthly salary. A few days later after staying in the center, the child was forcefully taken to a camp in Sanaa, and later to a battlefront. The family, who was not told about this development, no longer hears from the child nor do they know his whereabouts. In Dhamar Governorate, another child was taken by the militias under similar circumstances. After he was kept in the center for some days, he was taken to a recruitment camp outside the area and thence to the front. His father, who was filled with remorse for having sent his son to the center with the lure of money, soon heard news about his son: killed in battle. Another 14-year-old child was on his way to school when he met a Houthi member, Nayef Mohammad Al-Gerf. He told the boy that if he joined the Houthi group, he would be honored with a school degree, a monthly salary, and a weapon. In fact, the attraction of a school degree without education is what the Houthis often use to entice children. The victim told investigators that after he conceded to the Houthi "deal," he was taken to the Srowah Directorate in Ma'rib, and then to a camp in Sanaa, where he underwent a 15-day training course on the use of heavy and medium weapons. He was later taken back to the Srowah front where he was detained by the army troops for several months before he was released and handed over to his family in Ma'rib City on November 11, 2016. These are few examples of the exploitation of children in serious violation of international charters pertaining to child protection. The charters include the Child Rights Agreement and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which bans the recruitment of children for armed disputes, and to which the Yemen Republic is a signatory. The exploitation of children is also in violation of the Second Additional Protocol of the Geneva Accords, besides the Yemeni Child Rights Law, which are in line with these accords. The Commission has concluded that the Houthis continue to violate child rights in Yemen, recruiting them through deception and forcing them to fight in the war. Since the rebels are not committed to the various child rights pacts, necessary action needs to be taken to safeguard children in Yemen, the Commission noted.
