As the regional efforts, as well as of the United Nations’, continue to progress in order to end the war and build peace in our country, the case of abductees and arbitrarily arrested and forcibly disappeared persons is being excluded from all humanitarian agenda which leads to prolonging and increasing the suffering of our sons and their families.
On October 15th and 16th, 2020, Yemeni parties released hundreds of abductees as an implementation of an agreement signed under the auspices of the United Nations. Such actions clarify any doubts regarding the capability of all parties of implementing a full scale release of all abductees. Yet, there are 624 abducted civilians, including four women, held by Houthi armed group, as well as 25 ones held by the government, as documented by Abductees’ Mothers Association.
At Abductees’ Mothers Association, we stand here by the office of United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Yemen in Sana’a to hold Yemeni parties and abducting authorities responsible for the lives and safety of all abductees, and demand the unconditional release of all abducted, arbitrarily detained, and forcibly disappeared civilians, especially the women.
We would like to express our gratitude for international and regional mediators for their great efforts, and urge them to place the case of abduction, arbitrary arrest, and forced disappearance as a priority at the negotiations’ agenda, and mount the necessary pressure on all parties to completely implement the case-related agreements. The issue is a humanitarian case that extends the suffering of hundreds of abductees to thousands of their mothers, children, and relatives, thus cannot be derailed or excluded from negotiations.
Issued by Abductees’ Mothers Association, Sana’a. June 24th, 2021.