Strengthening Freedom of Thought Conscience, Religion, and Belief in Yemen
This side-event will discuss and propose long-term and short-term action items to work for the strengthening of freedom of thought, conscience, religion and belief in Yemen to work for resilient peace. As highlighted so eloquently by the Special Envoy of the Secretary General to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, ”..we cannot afford to seek a seasonal peace. The parties need to make further, bold steps toward a peace that is sustainable & just […] and guarantees equal citizenship for all Yemenis, regardless of gender, faith, background or race.”
Moderator: Nadine Maenza, President IRF Secretariat and former USCIRF cOMMISSIONER
Speakers:
- Vice-Chair USCIRF, Commissioner Fred Davie
- UN Special Rapporteur FoRB Nazila Ghanea (virtually)
- Musheer, Yemeni pastor survivor of arbitrary detention in Houthi-Controlled areas (virtually)
- Huda, Yemeni Christian survivor (virtually)
- Bahai Yemeni survivor (virtually) [Name to be confirmed]
- Abdul Yafai, Speaker on behalf of secular Yemenis
Waiting for final confirmation:
- Jewish Yemeni survivor
Violence in Yemen in 2023 has seen an uptick , including an increase in targeted attacks and violent speech towards religious minorities. On 25th May 2023, Houthi militia stormed a peaceful meeting of Bahais in Sana’a and arrested 17, including five women, and continue to detain 14 of them incommunicado. In 2 June 2023, the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights reported how the Mufti Shamseddin Sharafeddin, appointed by leaders of the Houthi militant movement, accused the detained Bahais of being apostates and saying “they should be killed,” if they did not repent.
Similar hate speech and incitement has been recorded in Yemen towards Christian converts and others since the start of the conflict and was raised during the virtual 53rd Human Rights Council parallel event co-sponsored by the Slovak Republic Bureau of the Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief. In addition, Article 259 of the Penal Code in Yemen, provides that apostasy is punishable by death. There are an estimated 40 000 Christians both native and refugees from abroad, this number however, has dwindled, and USCIRF reports that the community has shrunk to only a few thousand, “Christians who remain in Yemen are unable to worship in public without fear.”
Women:
In addition, women are especially targeted in Houthi-controlled areas where restrictions of freedom of movement have become more pronounced with detrimental impact on several freedoms, including women’s exercise of freedom of religion and belief.
Christian convert women have reported how Houthi security guards physically beat them while in detention, and one survivor shared about threats by the Houthis to marry off her teenage daughter to a chief Houthi leader as punishment for leaving Islam. She was able to escape with her daughter before the threats were acted on. The Muharram laws however, exacerbate the hardships faced by Yemeni women and hamper their ability to flee religious persecution and domestic violence.
Humanitarian crisis:
Yemen has a population of over 24 million people, with more than 80 per cent of the population struggling to access food, safe drinking water and adequate health services. It is therefore exceedingly concerning that aid is being denied several Yemenis because of their religion or belief, such as apostates from Islam in Yemen and others. These actions leave minorities additionally vulnerable, not only do they face the risk of extrajudicial execution for perceived or de facto apostasy or arbitrary detention, but also enforced hunger by intolerant actors who have weaponised aid distribution.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) describes in its Humanitarian Response Plan how existing legal and policy frameworks are weak and lack proper implementation to protect rights but does not include information regarding the systemic discrimination of individuals on religious grounds. The Humanitarian Response Plan does note how children continue to be exposed to “family separation, child recruitment into armed groups, forced/early marriage, trafficking and the worst forms of child labour, such as commercial sexual exploitation”. The report acknowledges marginalization and discrimination against certain minority and gender groups – but not with regards to distribution of aid. The report highlights specifically the ethnic minority group Muhamasheen who are represented in the Minority Council of Yemen, noting the social exclusion and reduced access to public services. These injustices are compounded by “intersecting identities”, such as being displaced and/or women. In addition to racial/ethnic discrimination however, religious discrimination is unfortunately also prevalent in the country, with those who leave Islam being threatened to death and/or ostracised from the society as noted above; information regarding individuals from religious minority groups, including Christians or Bahais, therefore, should be part of any future response plan.