Mwatana launches its “Ramadan with Their Families” campaign for 1447 AH / 2026
Mwatana for Human Rights stated, in its announcement launching its annual campaign “Ramadan with Their Families,” dedicated to calling for the release of arbitrarily detained and forcibly disappeared persons held by various parties and authorities, that the approaching holy month of Ramadan represents an opportunity for all parties and authorities to fulfill their legal, religious, and humanitarian obligations by lifting injustice from the thousands of detainees and forcibly disappeared persons, as well as from the thousands of Yemeni families who continue to suffer from the absence of their loved ones and endure daily anguish, anxiety, anticipation, and longing. Ending this suffering by releasing them would allow them to spend the blessed days of Ramadan with their families and loved ones.
Coinciding with the approach of the holy month of Ramadan, Mwatana for Human Rights is launching the “Ramadan with Their Families” campaign, which will run throughout the month. Through the campaign, Mwatana seeks to shed light on the conditions faced by arbitrarily detained and forcibly disappeared persons and their families, as they remain absent behind the bars and in the detention facilities of the various parties across different regions of Yemen, and to call for an end to this suffering. The campaign will feature a series of visual, audio, and written materials intended to convey aspects of the ongoing hardship endured by victims and their families.
Radhiya Al-Mutawakel, Chairperson of Mwatana for Human Rights, said: “The leadership of all parties and authorities must take responsible initiative to release detainees so that they may spend the days of the holy month with their families, in consideration of applicable laws and legislation and in respect of religious, humanitarian, and national values. The fate of thousands of Yemenis and their families depends on the decisions of those leaders.”
Al-Mutawakel added: “The immediate and unconditional release of all arbitrarily detained and forcibly disappeared persons is a fundamental step toward ending the injustice and oppression endured by hundreds of families amid continued disregard and a complete absence of justice and redress. The blessed month of Ramadan represents an opportunity for the leaders of the parties to conflict and authorities to ensure that initiatives to release detainees form part of their preparations for observing the holy month with their families and children, with clear consciences.”
Mwatana for Human Rights called on all parties to the conflict—foremost among them the Ansar Allah (Houthi) group, the internationally recognized Yemeni government, the Southern Transitional Council, Islah Party formations, the Joint Forces, and the Saudi/UAE-led coalition forces—to immediately and unconditionally release all arbitrarily detained and forcibly disappeared persons and to allow them to share with their families and loved ones the atmosphere and spirituality of the holy month of Ramadan.
