Yemen’s Child Soldier Crisis Worsens; Rights Groups Urge UN Action | WPN World People News

More than a decade into Yemen’s civil war, the recruitment and exploitation of children by armed groups remain a serious concern. The Saudi National Society for Human Rights has recently urged the United Nations and the UN Security Council to take action to secure the release of recruited minors, hold those responsible accountable, and protect children’s rights to a safe life and education.

Arab News reported on Oct. 9 that human rights organizations have highlighted the close link between child recruitment and Yemen’s hunger crisis. Poverty, the loss of family income, and school closures have made children more vulnerable to recruitment by armed groups. Addressing the problem requires not only ending recruitment and releasing child soldiers, but also improving family livelihoods and reopening schools so that children are not forced to rely on armed groups for survival.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels seized the capital, Sanaa, in 2014, and the conflict escalated into a full-scale war the following year. Although the warring parties reached a ceasefire in 2022, large-scale offensives resumed in September 2026, reigniting the conflict.

A 2024 investigation by Human Rights Watch found that the Houthis had exploited the Gaza war to encourage children to participate in recruitment activities through schools, summer camps, and other channels. Although the Houthis signed a UN action plan in 2022 pledging to end the recruitment and use of children, reports of such practices have continued.

A UN report on children and armed conflict released in June 2026 confirmed that 262 children had been recruited by armed forces or groups in Yemen, including 259 boys and three girls. The report also noted that the Houthis were not the only party involved in child recruitment. Armed forces affiliated with Yemen’s internationally recognized government and other local armed groups were also implicated.

In early October, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned that approximately 18.3 million people in Yemen were facing acute food insecurity and struggling to obtain sufficient food consistently. The renewed fighting in September threatens to further worsen the food crisis.

The Saudi National Society for Human Rights has called on the international community to address child soldier recruitment and hunger simultaneously. It emphasized the need to safeguard access to education, improve household economic conditions, and provide safe living environments to reduce the risk of children being recruited by armed groups.