Child Soldiers in the Yemeni Civil War

Abstract

Today, a humanitarian crisis has developed in Yemen as a result of several years of ongoing civil war. All opposing parties took advantage of critical living conditions, religious–political beliefs, and Yemeni traditions in intensive recruitment to increase their armed power among young people under the age of 18, in serious and deliberate violation of relevant international standards. The aim of the study is to provide a detailed analysis of the reasons for children joining, the methods used to recruit them, their training and deployment, and the related propaganda activities, in addition to illustrating the statistics. The author also discusses the measures taken to stop the unfavourable process, as well as the problem of rehabilitation of child soldiers and the unfavourable prospects should the current trend become acute.