Madrid Spain
October 7 2025

In Yemen, Houthi authorities have recently detained nine additional United Nations employees, adding to dozens already held in Houthi-controlled regions. The detentions were conducted without clear legal justification or transparency, and appear part of a broader campaign targeting the U.N. and humanitarian actors in areas under Houthi control. This crackdown has constrained the ability of aid agencies to operate safely and effectively across large swathes of the country.

For an organization committed to global peace, this event is deeply alarming: it represents a direct attack on the neutrality and protection of humanitarian actors, undermines trust in aid institutions, and sets a dangerous precedent that could embolden other conflict actors to harass or detain staff.

If peace by 2030 is to become more than rhetoric, the security and immunity of humanitarian workers must be nonnegotiable, and accountability mechanisms strengthened across conflict zones.