Guterres condemns the Houthi kidnapping of UN staff and calls for their immediate release

The Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres strongly condemned today, Monday, the actions of the Houthi group in kidnapping 11 UN staff members in recent days, in addition to storming the offices of several international organizations and looting their contents in areas under the group's control in Yemen.

Guterres also strongly condemned the storming of the World Food Programme building, the confiscation of UN property, as well as attempts to storm other premises belonging to the international organization in the capital, Sana'a.

The Secretary-General affirmed in a statement that these practices represent a serious violation of human rights and international law, emphasizing that the continuation of such arbitrary arrests is unacceptable.

Guterres pointed out that there must be an immediate and unconditional release of all detained staff, including UN employees and international and national NGOs, as well as civil society organizations and diplomatic missions, who have been arbitrarily detained since June 2024, in addition to those who have remained in detention since 2021 and 2023.

The Secretary-General emphasized that the safety and security of UN staff should be a global concern, and they should not be subjected to arrest or detention while performing their humanitarian duties.

He also stressed the need to ensure the protection of UN premises and property at all times.

In this context, Guterres expressed the continued commitment of the United Nations to work towards ensuring the safe and immediate release of all detainees, and reaffirmed the ongoing support of the UN and international partners for the aspirations of the Yemeni people to achieve lasting peace.

For his part, Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi announced in a televised speech last night, Sunday, the beginning of a new phase in what he described as the "security battle," which aims to "fortify the internal front against infiltrations."

The speech indicated that this step could lead to a wide campaign of arrests that may include dozens of civilians and workers in international organizations, on charges including "espionage" and "working for Israel."

These developments come at a sensitive time as Yemen witnesses an escalation in security tensions, complicating the UN's efforts to achieve a comprehensive political solution to the ongoing Yemeni crisis.