SAM Organization for Rights and Liberties said that the indefinite postponement of the detainee exchange agreement between the Yemeni government and the Houthi group prolongs the suffering of detainees and their families and undermines confidence in the United Nations–sponsored humanitarian process. The organization stressed that the detainee file must be treated as a distinct human rights and humanitarian issue, separate from political and military disputes.
According to Yemen’s government-run Saba News Agency, Hadi al-Hayj, head of the government negotiating team on detainees, said his team had been informed by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Office of the UN Special Envoy for Yemen that the Houthi group had refused to implement the exchange on the agreed date and had postponed it until an unspecified time. As of the publication of this statement, the Office of the UN Special Envoy had not issued a detailed public explanation regarding the reasons for or circumstances surrounding the postponement.
In remarks to the Houthi-affiliated Saba News Agency, Abdulqader al-Murtada, head of the Houthi-affiliated National Committee for Prisoners’ Affairs, attributed the delay to what he described as stalling by the other party and its failure to fulfil the agreed commitments. He added that his committee had completed the required procedures and informed the United Nations and the ICRC of its readiness. According to al-Murtada, disagreements over the addition of further names to the exchange lists prevented the agreement from being implemented on schedule.
SAM said that the mutual accusations exchanged by the two parties, in the absence of an independent explanation from the sponsoring bodies, leave thousands of families facing conflicting accounts and deepen their anxiety and uncertainty regarding the fate of their loved ones. The suffering of detainees and their families must not be turned into material for public recriminations or used as a pretext to justify further delays.
Tawfiq al-Humaidi, President of SAM Organization for Rights and Liberties, said:
“Families should not have to learn that the release of their loved ones has been derailed through conflicting statements and mutual accusations. They have the right to know what happened, who failed to fulfil their commitments, and what steps are being taken to resume the process. Transparency in this matter is not merely a procedural issue; it is part of the right of victims and their families to know the truth.”
The exchange was scheduled to be carried out through the ICRC under a United Nations–sponsored agreement. After years of waiting, loss, and anxiety, many families had placed their hopes in this process. Behind every name on the exchange lists is a family waiting for the return of a son, father, or husband—or for reliable information about his fate.
SAM believes that the slow handling of the case of Yemeni politician Mohammed Qahtan, and the questions it has raised concerning his fate, the conditions of his detention, and the circumstances surrounding the handover of his remains, has likely weakened the confidence that should have helped move the detainee file forward. His case should have been addressed transparently and responsibly as a step toward building trust, rather than becoming an additional source of uncertainty and tension.
The organization emphasized the need to distinguish between combatants detained because of their participation in hostilities and civilians who have been abducted, arbitrarily detained, or forcibly disappeared. It stressed that including civilians in exchange agreements does not confer any legitimacy on their detention, nor does it prevent them from being regarded as victims of serious human rights violations.
SAM added that detaining authorities remain obligated to release those held arbitrarily, disclose the fate and whereabouts of forcibly disappeared persons, enable their families to learn the truth, investigate allegations of torture or deaths in custody, and hold those responsible for such violations accountable.
SAM called on the Office of the UN Special Envoy for Yemen to issue a public statement explaining the reasons the agreement was not implemented, the nature of the commitments that were not fulfilled, and the party or parties that prevented its implementation, based on the information available to the Office. It also called on the Special Envoy’s Office to clarify the steps required to resume the process and prevent further postponements.
SAM further called on the International Committee of the Red Cross to continue its humanitarian and technical role in facilitating the exchange, verifying the integrity and safety of the procedures, and ensuring respect for the dignity of detainees throughout the transportation and handover stages, in accordance with its humanitarian mandate and the principles of neutrality, independence, and confidentiality.
Al-Humaidi said:
“For thousands of Yemeni families, this is not a dispute over lists or negotiating arrangements. It is about people deprived of their liberty and families waiting for years of fear to come to an end. Every day of delay prolongs their suffering and increases the responsibility of the parties and mediators to ensure that the agreement is implemented without further obstruction.”