UN rights body urges warring parties in Yemen to release child soldiers

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) urged warring parties in Yemen to release children recruited for armed conflict, adding that the United Nations had verified the enlistment of close to 1,500 children in the war-torn country since March 2015.

"We have received numerous reports of the recruitment of children in Yemen for use in the armed conflict," OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said Tuesday in a biweekly press briefing.

"In all, between March 26, 2015 and Jan. 31 2017, the UN has managed to verify the recruitment of 1,476 children, all boys," she added.

Shamdasani warned that the real number of recruited children was likely to be much higher since many families were unwilling to report the recruitment of their children to authorities for fear of reprisal.

According to findings, children under the age of 18 are often misled into joining armed groups through promises of financial reward or social status.

"Many are then quickly sent to the front lines of the conflict or tasked with manning checkpoints," she explained.

Shamdasani reminded all parties to the conflict that the recruitment and use of children in war was prohibited according to both international human rights and humanitarian law, and that recruiting a child who is less than 15 years old could amount to a war crime.

"We urge them to immediately release such children," she said. Endit