Contrary to the predominant perception and narrative that the Houthis are the sole culprits in recruitment and use of child soldiers in the Yemen war, this article provides evidence that all parties to the conflict have deployed child soldiers in the eight year long war on Yemen.

To better understand the issue at hand, one must first gain a knowledge base on the law governing children’s rights in armed conflict.

Read here the UN convention on the right of the child.

The Convention in a nutshell:

The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict aims to protect children from recruitment and use in hostilities.

At present, 172 countries have ratified the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict. There are 17 countries that have neither signed nor ratified the protocol and 8 countries that have signed but are yet to ratify.

The UN Logo:

Saudi Arabia and UAE role in the recruitment of child soldiers in Yemen and elsewhere

At present, the UAE, which is a party to the Saudi Arabia-led coalition in Yemen, has not yet signed or ratified the agreement.

The UAE recruits child soldiers from Darfur, a region in Sudan, to fight in the Yemen war.

On the front line of the Saudi war in Yemen: child soldiers from Darfur.

The New York Times

There is only a little research work carried out on this sensitive topic, which is deplorable when considering the international implications, such as that child soldiers are deployed as mercenaries to fight abroad. As always, corporate media does not report on Saudi Arabian or UAE crimes. The United Nations remains mostly silent, accusing the Houthis predominantly of recruitment of children as soldiers.

Geneva – The military coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE in Yemen has killed thousands of civilians in airstrikes, tortured detainees, raped civilians, and used child soldiers as young as 8 –

The New York Times

I, too, was once upon a time accusing only the Houthis with recruitment of child soldiers, not knowing that all parties to the conflict had been actively engaged in this despicable practice. The United Nations and major news outlets were solely reporting on Houthi crimes against children, diverting the attention from the Saudi Arabia-led coalition and covering up their war crimes in Yemen. The United Nations rarely confronts Saudi Arabia with crimes against children. In fact, the United Nations removed Saudi Arabia from the List of Shame, which is a list of violators against children.

Read on British troops deployed in Yemen fighting for the Saudi Arabia-led coalition alongside child soldiers here.

All parties without exception must be held accountable for war crimes committed in Yemen.