AL-MUKALLA: UN and international aid organizations whose employees are being forcibly held by the Houthis have condemned the Yemeni militia over plans to put the abducted workers on trial.

Global calls for the employees to be released follow an announcement by the militia that it has abolished a body notorious for harassing international aid workers.

In a joint letter, the UN Yemen envoy, Hans Grundberg, and heads of several UN agencies and international organizations, including Save the Children International, on Saturday expressed dismay over news that the Houthis plan to prosecute the employees, warning that the move will jeopardize workers’ security and disrupt humanitarian activities in aid-dependent Yemen.

“We are extremely concerned about the reported referral to ‘criminal prosecution’ by the Houthi de facto authorities of a significant number of arbitrarily detained colleagues,” the organizations said.

Two UNESCO workers and one UN Human Rights Office employee are believed to be facing prosecution. The three were abducted by the Houthis in separate incidents in 2021 and 2023.

“Such a decision further raises serious concerns about the safety and security of our staff and their families, and will further impede our ability to reach millions of Yemenis who need humanitarian aid and protection, with detrimental consequences for their well-being and status,” the organizations added.

During the last four months, the Houthis have launched a crackdown on Yemeni workers with UN agencies, international aid, human rights and development organizations, and diplomatic missions in areas under their control.

At least 70 Yemenis have been abducted during the campaign. The Houthis have accused them of spying for US and Israeli intelligence agencies, as well as attempting to damage the education, health, and agricultural sectors.

UN and international organizations have repeatedly denied the militia’s accusations, and called for their employees to be freed and for an end to attacks on aid workers. 

Despite widespread criticism of the Yemeni militia’s crackdown, lawyers in Sanaa say the Houthis are preparing to put the abducted workers on trial. 

In 2021, the Houthis seized a dozen Yemeni workers from the US Embassy in Sanaa after raiding the building. The militia also abducted UN workers, sparking international condemnation, primarily from the US.

The Yemeni government has long maintained that the international community’s “soft” stance on Houthi human rights violations and harassment of aid efforts in Yemen has encouraged further attacks on Yemeni workers with international organizations and diplomatic missions.

Yemen’s Human Rights Minister, Ahmed Arman, said the Houthis will change their attitude toward international agencies only if the UN and other global organizations close their Sanaa offices, even for a short period.

“We demanded they take tougher actions against Houthi violations. At least temporarily, they (should) close their offices in Sanaa,” Arman told Arab News. 

The Houthis recently shut down a body in charge of overseeing humanitarian activities in areas under their control.

In a letter dated Oct. 9, and confirmed by Arab News through a UN official, the Houthi Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates informed UN agencies, the UN Yemen envoy office, and other international organizations that the Supreme Council for the Management and Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and International Cooperation had been abolished.

The body was established by the Houthis in 2017 to handle humanitarian activities.

According to the letter, the ministry will now take over the council’s role.

The council has long been accused of harassing international humanitarian organizations by imposing onerous bureaucratic procedures, obstructing their movements, and diverting aid to the militia’s military operations.

Arman said that abolishing the SCMCHA will make no difference in the Houthis’ treatment of international organizations, as responsibilities were “moved from one Houthi body to another.”