Al-Qistas Organization and Yemen's Children Platform Discuss Risks of Child Abuse; Siyaj Presents a Vision to Strengthen Protection
The Siyaj Organization for Childhood Protection has revealed alarming figures and statistics in a recent position paper, highlighting the worsening rates of violence, exploitation, and abuse against children in Yemen as a result of the war, climate change, and the overall collapse of the child protection system.
According to the paper, child marriage rates in rural areas have reached approximately 80 percent over the past five years. It also noted that millions of children have been exposed to recruitment through summer camps, with more than 10,000 children reportedly pushed into front-line combat.
In a paper presented by the organization's president during the discussion forum titled “Children Between the Risk of Abuse and Protection Gaps,” organized by Al-Qistas Foundation for Justice and Rights in cooperation with the Yemen Children Platform, Siyaj stated that more than 21.5 million boys and girls are facing serious risks amid a collapsed protection environment.
The paper indicated that one in every four children is now out of school, while 47 percent of displaced children lack official birth certificates, depriving them of their basic rights and increasing their vulnerability to recruitment, exploitation, and trafficking.
Siyaj further noted that local and international human rights reports, including reports issued by the United Nations Group of Eminent Experts, have documented that summer camps have become environments for forced recruitment, sexual exploitation, and torture—acts that may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The organization also exposed serious violations in the temporary capital, Aden, where influential security personnel were allegedly involved in cases of blackmail and sexual exploitation of children.
Siyaj called on the Presidential Leadership Council, the Government of Yemen, and the Public Prosecution to adopt urgent, comprehensive, and decisive measures. It also urged the United Nations and international donors to allocate resources specifically aimed at combating the sexual exploitation of children in the context of the Yemeni conflict.
