A UN report reveals the atrocities of smugglers against African migrants to Yemen
English - Sunday 30 October 2022 الساعة 05:19 pm
Aden, NewsYemen:
The United Nations revealed widespread violations of migrants from the Horn of Africa by gangs of smugglers in Yemen and Ethiopia, stressing that they were subjected to sexual abuse, even children.
The International Organization for Migration said that during the period from July to last September, more than 15,700 migrants arrived on the shores of Yemen, bringing the total number of arrivals this year to more than 42,000 people.
Among the tens of thousands of migrants who arrived, mostly from Ethiopia and Somalia, "there were many of them still facing severe protection risks such as kidnapping, torture, detention and exploitation," the organization said.
Extortion and rape
The organization noted an increase in the number of migrants in both Aden and Marib seeking assistance, which indicates the harsh situation migrants have always faced across the country.
The International Migration Report showed that the main migration routes through the country are still under the control of smugglers and ruthless traffickers.
"This fact is increasingly indicated by protection monitoring reports, with smugglers in particular maintaining strong networks that exploit migrants' vulnerable situations, subjecting them to extortion, forced labor and rape, among other forms of abuse, to keep migrants trapped in inhumane conditions," he said.
Migrants routinely report physical abuse and detention upon arrival, where they are extorted for additional money before being released and continuing on their journeys, and oftentimes, images of abuse are sent to family members in their home countries in order to provoke them to send money to secure release.
The report stated that sexual abuses committed by smugglers against migrants, including children, were reported.
The report spoke for the first time about a power struggle between both Yemeni and Ethiopian smugglers, as smugglers resorted to violence against each other in order to control the movements of migrants, which further exacerbated their situation.
Rape of 130 women
The International Migration Report said that women and girls are disproportionately at risk of abuse, as they remain a highly valued “good” for smugglers and human traffickers, and acknowledged that it has become increasingly difficult to access abuses by humanitarian actors.
During the last three months covered by the report, humanitarian partners reported that more than 130 women migrants were kidnapped from camps by smugglers, and subjected to rape, sexual harassment and other forms of gender-based violence.
It is noteworthy that about five thousand migrants arrive in Yemen every month, most of whom hold Ethiopian citizenship, as the number of those who have arrived since the beginning of this year has reached 42 thousand, according to United Nations data.
