UN Chief Urges Immediate Release of 73 Staff Held by Houthis
In a statement delivered by deputy spokesman Farhan Haq, Guterres condemned the ongoing imprisonment of UN staff alongside personnel from non-governmental organizations, civil society groups, and diplomatic missions swept up in the June 2024 crackdown. He also reiterated his condemnation of separate arrests of UN personnel carried out in 2025, 2023, and 2021.
A total of 73 UN personnel "remain arbitrarily detained in Yemen," the statement said, adding that one staff member has died while in custody and that several others are reportedly being held incommunicado, cut off from contact with both family and colleagues.
The UN declared the detentions a clear violation of international law and warned that the arrests have "severely" undermined humanitarian and development operations serving millions of people in desperate need across Yemen.
"United Nations personnel, including those who are nationals of Yemen, are immune from legal process in respect of all acts performed by them in their official capacity," the statement said.
Despite the deepening crisis, Guterres stressed that engagement with Houthi authorities must continue as the primary path toward securing the detainees' freedom and restoring the full scope of humanitarian activity across the country.
"The United Nations will continue to pursue all possible avenues to secure the immediate and safe release of those detained," the statement said.
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