Yemen and Saudi Arabia: families reunited thanks to two release operations of more than 970 detainees in connection with the armed conflict carried out over four days

2023-04-17 16:00:00

From 14 to 16 April, the ICRC organized fifteen flights to transport 869 released people to six cities: Abha and Riyadh, in Saudi Arabia; and Aden, Marib, Moca and Sanaa, in Yemen. In addition, on April 17, at the request of the Saudi-led coalition, the organization facilitated another separate unilateral release of 104 detainees from Saudi Arabia to Yemen.

“I am deeply moved and proud of the work our teams have done to reunite so many detainees with their families in the last four days, and we are prepared to do so for those who have not yet been released,” said ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric. “These operations highlight the real impact of the ICRC’s neutrality and its ability to work with all parties to bring people back home and end years of separation.”

The ICRC played a crucial role as a neutral intermediary in organizing and supervising the transfer of the detainees following talks that concluded last month in Switzerland under the auspices of the monitoring committee for the implementation of the detainee exchange agreement. The committee, which included representatives of the parties to the armed conflict, was co-chaired by the ICRC and the Office of the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Yemen.

“These liberation operations brought together hundreds of families just in time for the Eid celebration. They were made possible by powerful acts of goodwill that, we hope, bring us one step closer to ending the armed conflict and years of human suffering,” said Daphnee Maret, head of the ICRC delegation in Yemen. “Furthermore, we recognize the important role of the United Nations in bringing the parties together, which made these liberation operations possible.”

Before repatriation, the ICRC interviewed the detainees privately to verify their identity and confirm their informed consent to release. ICRC medical teams assessed the health of the detainees to ensure they were fit to travel. In addition, they were given clothing and a one-time cash grant.

ICRC teams accompanied the detainees on the day of repatriation to supervise the transfer and provide the necessary medical care. Also present at the six airports were volunteers and a medical team from the Yemen Red Crescent Society and the Saudi Red Crescent Authority, to help detainees with disabilities embark and disembark, and to provide first aid. first aid and ambulance services.

“We have witnessed the renewed hope and consolation for the suffering of many people that this important liberation operation has generated,” said Mamadou Sow, head of the ICRC’s regional delegation for Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. “Hopefully the hope and good will that we have seen in the last four days translates into the lasting peace that the population so badly needs and deserves.”

FIN

Notes to editors:

This is the second largest liberation operation that the ICRC has been involved in during the armed conflict in Yemen. In a similar operation that took place in October 2020, the ICRC transferred more than 1,000 detainees. In addition, the organization facilitated the repatriation of 117 detainees who were unilaterally released from Saudi Arabia to Yemen in May 2022, and on multiple other occasions between November 2019 and September 2020.

The ICRC has been present in Yemen for 61 years. Also in the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, including seven years in Saudi Arabia, working to promote respect for international humanitarian law in times of armed conflict and providing humanitarian assistance to communities in need.

More information :

Fatima Sator (French, English) in Aden, Yemen,
[email protected], [phone]

Basheer Al-Selwi (Arabic, English) in Sanaa, Yemen,
[email protected], [phone]

Fareed Al-Homaid (Arabic, English) in Sana’a, Yemen,
[email protected], [phone]

Adnan Hezam (Arabic, English) in Moca, Yemen,
[email protected], [phone]

Ahmed Zaki (Arabic) in Maareb, Yemen,
[email protected], [phone]

Alaa Nayel (Arabic, English) in Abha, Saudi Arabia,
[email protected], [phone]

Imene Trabelsi (Arabic, French, English) in Beirut,
[email protected], [phone]

Jessica Moussan (Arabic, French, English) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates,
[email protected], [phone]