child soldiers

In a statement by the spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Shamdasani, 1476 Yemeni children were reported to have been recruited by Yemen’s warrying parties in particular by Shiite Houthi rebels between March 2015 and January 2017. The number of children is probably higher because many parents are not willing to talk about the recruitment of their children for fear of reprisals. The spokesperson also reminded all parties to the conflict that the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict is strictly forbidden by international human rights law and international humanitarian law and added recruitment of children under 15 is a war crime.