According to a report by the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, as of 2021, the Houthis had forcibly recruited over 10,000 children in Yemen since 2014, a figure that underscores the scale of the issue. The recruitment tactics employed by the group are described as particularly brutal, with youths who fail to comply with orders reportedly facing a range of punishments that include food deprivation, imprisonment, physical and sexual assault, and even death threats. An unnamed source cited by Euro-Med expressed grave concern over the indoctrination of children with extremist ideologies, warning that such practices could sow the seeds for future generations of radicals beyond the group's immediate control. “However, what is more troubling is not only the inclusion of children in military operations but feeding their simple minds with extremist ideas and filling them with hate speech and violence, and thus creating future extremists who may not be easily controlled given the huge number that the group recruits or aims to recruit in the future,” they stated. During a speech on Feb. 13, Abdul Malik Al-Houthi, leader of the Houthi group in Yemen, called for Arab nations to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people, framing their plight as one of ongoing suffering under occupation. However, experts caution that such rhetoric is often a smokescreen for the recruitment efforts of the Houthis, who allegedly exploit the Palestinian cause to entice children into their ranks before dispatching them to conflict zones far from Gaza. “The Houthis make children believe that they will fight to liberate Palestine, but they end up sending them to [the front lines in] Marib and Taizz,” said a human rights activist who spoke with Human Rights Watch. “Indeed, the Houthis’ Gaza is Marib [a Yemeni city with oil resources Houthis have repeatedly attacked].” As Israel's military campaign in Gaza has unfolded over the past three months, the Houthis have reportedly bolstered their forces with over 70,000 new fighters, though the exact number of child recruits remains uncertain. Experts suggest that a significant portion of these recruits fall between the ages of 13 and 25, with potentially thousands being underage. Niku Jafarnia, a researcher at HRW specializing in Yemen and Bahrain, criticized the Houthis for diverting resources towards military recruitment rather than addressing the basic needs of children in their territories, such as education and food security. “The Houthis are exploiting the Palestinian cause to recruit more children for their domestic fight in Yemen,” she said. “The Houthis should be investing resources into providing the basic needs of children in their territories like good education, food, and water, rather than replacing their childhood with conflict.” Reports indicate a surge in recruitment activities within schools, with the Houthis allegedly leveraging school scouts to lure students into their ranks through lectures on jihad and military training at culture centers and camps. An unnamed activist who works as a human rights researcher told HRW that the Houthis’ recruitment activities in schools has “increased massively [since October 7], including through the school scouts. They take students from schools to their culture centers where they lecture children about the Jihad and send them to military camps and front lines.” A 2023 United Nations report highlighted the alarming trend of recruiting children as young as six-years-old through summer camps, underscoring the widespread impact on Yemeni youth. More than one million Yemeni children live in Houthi-controlled areas, the report stated. One child, recruited by the Houthis at age 14, recounted the harrowing conditions within the organization, describing grueling tasks and constant fear for their life, all while longing for their family's embrace. “I was assigned with loading the guns and transporting them with foodstuffs to high, rugged areas. It was hard and exhausting,” they said. "I used to get beaten and reprimanded when I arrived late. I cried a lot during those nights, fearing for my life and for missing my mother, father and brothers.”In the midst of the ongoing crisis in Gaza, Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have been accused of exploiting the turmoil to enlist children as young as 13 into their armed forces, a violation of international law that has sparked widespread condemnation.
