Country: Yemen

Since March 2015, Yemen is stage to an armed conflict between several rivalling fractions in which the main adversaries are forces loyal to the Hadi government, backed by the Saudi-led Coalition, and forces affiliated to the Houthis. All parties to the conflict have committed violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, with the civilian population bearing the highest cost. The three year-long conflict combined with embargos and sieges have plunged the MENA region’s poorest country into the largest humanitarian crisis worldwide.

Civilians have suffered numerous indiscriminate attacks perpetrated by the different parties to the conflict, mostly through shelling and bombing. They were often directly targeted, and attacks were conducted without respect for the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution. What is more, the use of banned cluster munition has been well-documented, in total disregard of civilian lives. Moreover, the practices of arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance remain widespread.

Release human rights lawyer Abdulmajeed Sabra

MENA Rights Group joins 16 NGOs in calling for the immediate release of human rights lawyer Abdulmajeed Sabra, who was arbitrarily detained by Houthi forces in Yemen on 25 September 2025 for social media posts commemorating the 26 September Revolution anniversary.

UN Secretary-General’s 2025 report highlights reprisals against human rights defenders in the MENA

MENA Rights Group provides a summary of the UNSG’s main concerns over reprisals against human rights defenders in the MENA region, particularly in Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Yemen.

UN Secretary-General’s 2024 report highlights reprisals against human rights defenders in the MENA

French company Total faces legal action for human rights violations committed by UAE forces in Yemen’s Balhaf gas complex

MENA Rights Group is taking the French energy giant TotalEnergies to court for failing to comply with its due diligence obligation in relation to human rights abuses committed in a gas liquefaction plant in Balhaf, Yemen. The lawsuit seeks reparations for two torture survivors and demands the inclusion of the Balhaf site in Total’s Vigilance […]

La société française Total assignée en justice pour les violations des droits humains commises par les forces des Emirats arabes unis sur le complexe gazier de Balhaf, au Yémen

MENA Rights Group poursuit le géant français de l’énergie TotalEnergies en justice pour non-respect de son obligation de diligence raisonnable concernant les atteintes aux droits humains commises dans une usine de liquéfaction de gaz à Balhaf, au Yémen. L’assignation demande des réparations pour deux victimes de torture et demande l’inclusion du site de Balhaf dans […]

Civil society groups demand urgent UN action against impunity for Yemen crimes

A coalition of 64 organisations call on the United Nations General Assembly to act swiftly to establish an investigative mechanism to gather and preserve evidence of serious human rights abuses and violations of the laws of war in Yemen. Failure to act would not only be a vote for impunity in Yemen, but it would […]

Yemeni national secretly detained and tortured by Emirati forces in Balhaf

On June 2, 2020, the Association For Victims Of Torture In UAE and MENA Rights Group requested the intervention of several United Nations Special Procedures on behalf of a Yemeni national who was subjected to torture and ill-treatment, by Emirati forces, inside secret detention centres across the Shabwah governorate, Yemen, in 2018. The victim was […]

Yemen: Over 150 NGOs appeal for death sentences of four journalists to be overturned

Organisations which support human rights, press freedom and journalists are calling on United Nations mechanisms and member states to help save the lives of four Yemeni journalists who were sentenced to death in April 2020 in the capital Sana’a on charges of “spying” and “spreading false news.” Of the six other journalists in the same […]

Yemen: Urgent measures needed to protect civilians from COVID-19

The conflict in Yemen is entering its sixth year, resulting in what is considered the worst man-made humanitarian crisis in the world. On 10 April, the first COVID-19 case was confirmed in the country. The warring parties, donor states, the United Nations (UN) and the European Union (EU) must take immediate and urgent steps to […]