UN condemns Houthi storming of UN Human Rights office in Sana'a

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, on Tuesday strongly condemned the storming of the office of the commission in Sana'a by the Houthi Ansar Allah group, which took place earlier this month.

The United Nations said in a statement on Tuesday that on August 3, 2024, the de facto authorities of Ansar Allah sent a "delegation" to the office of the Human Rights Commission in Sana'a, which forced local employees to hand over their property, including documents, furniture and vehicles, as well as the keys to the office, and it still controls the office to this day.

"Entering a UN office without authorization and forcibly seizing documents and property is in complete contravention of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations and constitutes a serious assault on the ability of the United Nations to exercise its mandate, including with regard to the promotion and protection of human rights," the statement quoted Turk as saying.

Turk called on the Houthi government to leave the building immediately, return all assets and property, and “respect the United Nations and its independence,” and renewed his call for the immediate and unconditional release of all UN staff detained in Yemen.

The statement recalled that on June 6 and 7, the Sana'a authorities detained 13 UN employees, including 6 working for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, in addition to more than 50 workers in various non-governmental organizations and a person working in an embassy.

It has also been holding two other OHCHR staff members since November 2021 and August 2023, as well as two other UN staff members who were detained earlier. All are being held in solitary confinement with no contact, the statement said.

On June 10, the Ansar Allah movement announced the “arrest of an American-Israeli spy network, directly linked to the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).”

One of the two employees who was previously detained by the Ansar Allah group had appeared in videos posted online, making confessions about allegations including espionage. Turk rejected these accusations, saying that “all these allegations are baseless.”

Following the June arrests, and given the security situation, the High Commissioner decided to temporarily suspend the Office’s operations in Sana’a and other areas under Houthi control, but the Office continues to work in other parts of Yemen.