UN Secretary-General António Guterres called on Tuesday for the immediate release of all United Nations staff held in Yemen by the Houthi rebels , following the detention of 13 of the Organization’s personnel.
Four additional UN staff members have been detained and held incommunicado by the de facto authorities since 2021 and 2023, without access to their families or their respective organizations and agencies.
“This is an alarming development that raises serious concerns about the Houthis’ commitment to a negotiated solution to the conflict. The United Nations condemns all arbitrary detention of civilians,” Mr. Guterres said. “I demand the immediate and unconditional release of all detained UN personnel.”
The UN chief’s call came as he met with his Special Envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, in Jordan. They discussed recent developments in Yemen including an escalating crackdown on civic space by the de facto authorities that reportedly led to the arbitrary detention of dozens of UN, NGO, and aid workers.
The Special Envoy’s Office noted that the four staff held ahead of the latest detentions worked for the UN education, scientific and cultural agency, UNESCO, and the UN human rights office, OHCHR.
The 13 UN staff detained over the past few days included six from OHCHR, one each from the Office of the Special Envoy (OSESGY), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN World Food Programme (WFP), UN World Health Organization (WHO) and two from UNESCO. At least 11 civil society workers were also arrested.
In the meeting between the Secretary-General and Mr. Grundberg, the Special Envoy briefed on efforts to secure the release of the personnel including a meeting on Monday with Mohamed Abdul Salam, the Houthi rebels chief negotiator, in Muscat. He also met senior Omani officials to solicit support.
“We are working diligently to secure the immediate and unconditional release of our detained personnel through all available channels,” Mr. Grundberg told UN News, as he called for the release of all arrested NGO workers as well.
During their encounter, the Secretary-General and his Special Envoy also stressed that the United Nations stands in solidarity with all humanitarian workers and civil society actors who play a crucial role in providing life-saving assistance and support to the people of Yemen.
Echoing the call to immediately release all the detainees, UN human rights chief Volker Türk expressed deep concern about the conditions in which they were being held, while also rejecting false allegations about their activities.
Two of the UN personnel detained last week are women, along with at least one other female civil society worker, continued the High Commissioner for Human Rights, as he insisted on an immediate end to "any further targeting" of human rights and aid workers in Yemen.
The UN human rights office has been working in Yemen since 2012, Mr. Türk noted, "for the promotion and protection of the rights of all the people of Yemen, including through engagement with the de facto authorities".