Since the outbreak of the conflict in Yemen, now nearing the end of its eleventh year, all parties to the conflict have committed a wide range of human rights violations, including crimes of enforced disappearance. Hundreds of victims remain hidden away in detention facilities run by all sides, deprived of their most basic rights, while hundreds of families remain trapped in an exhausting state of waiting—oscillating between unanswered pleas for help and repeated official denials. This pattern of enforced disappearance has inflicted severe social, psychological, and economic harm.
The report Suspended Fates presents the findings of in-depth field research conducted by Mwatana for Human Rights between September 2014 and July 2025, during which more than 2,068 interviews were conducted with victims’ families. The organization documented at least 1,592 incidents of enforced disappearance involving 2,120 victims. The Ansar Allah (Houthi) group was found responsible for 756 incidents involving 897 victims. Forces of the internationally recognized government were responsible for 351 incidents involving 449 victims. The Saudi/UAE-led coalition was responsible for 65 incidents involving 91 victims. Forces of the Southern Transitional Council were responsible for 387 incidents involving 630 victims. The Joint Forces were responsible for 15 incidents involving 21 victims. Eritrean forces were responsible for 5 incidents involving 19 victims. Terrorist organizations were responsible for 13 incidents involving 13 victims of enforced disappearance.
The report consists of five main chapters, in addition to the executive summary and recommendations addressed to the various parties to the conflict in Yemen, civil society, the United Nations, and the international community, based on the issues covered.
The first chapter examines aspects of the historical context of enforced disappearance crimes accompanying cycles of political conflict in both parts of Yemen, including the central region wars, the January 1986 events in Aden, the 1994 summer war in the south, the six Saada wars, the “war on terror” campaign following the events of September 11, 2001, the issue of enforced disappearance within international mechanisms, the 2011 uprisings, and finally the crimes of enforced disappearance committed during the armed conflict that erupted in late 2014—where enforced disappearance has been systematically used as a tool for repression and intimidation.
The second chapter addresses the legal framework governing the crime of enforced disappearance and the relevant international obligations under the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, and the Rome Statute. It also explains how Yemeni national legislation prohibits enforced disappearance, with particular attention to provisions relating to the remains of enforced disappearance victims and mass graves.
The report demonstrates how enforced disappearance evolved from a tool targeting activists and dissidents into a widespread crime affecting a broad range of individuals: journalists, civil servants, humanitarian workers, human rights defenders, and even ordinary civilians stopped at checkpoints. Since the establishment of frontlines in 2015, the rate of enforced disappearances has surged in major cities such as Sana’a, Aden, and Al Hudaydah, as well as in other governorates—surpassing political or regional affiliations to include arbitrary suspicion based on surnames, places of residence, or travel routes.
The third chapter presents case studies of enforced disappearance crimes committed by various parties involved in such violations since the outbreak of the conflict in late 2014, including the Ansar Allah (Houthi) group, the Southern Transitional Council, forces of the internationally recognized government (including formations affiliated with the Islah Party), the Saudi/UAE-led coalition, and Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. These are organized geographically and chronologically, highlighting prominent cases where the fate of victims remains unknown as of the drafting of this report.
The report, in its fourth chapter, presents an aspect of Mwatana for Human Rights’ efforts in addressing the crime of enforced disappearance, such as documentation and providing legal support to victims and their families through a network of female and male lawyers. These efforts culminated in revealing the fate of dozens of forcibly disappeared individuals and removing them from the circle of enforced disappearance, or securing their release from secret detention facilities, in addition to advocacy and lobbying campaigns.
The fifth chapter reviews international protection mechanisms, starting with United Nations bodies (the Security Council, the General Assembly, the Human Rights Council, the Special Procedures, the Universal Periodic Review, and the Group of Eminent Experts), followed by the role of the Committee on Enforced Disappearances, the International Fact-Finding Commission, and the International Committee of the Red Cross in monitoring violations and ensuring the safe return of those forcibly disappeared.