By Tyler Yates
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

SANA’A Yemen — The rise in violence in Yemen, ignited by the protests against President Ali Abdullah Saleh, has led to a subsequent rise in the recruitment of child soldiers.

Currently, there are three main military units fighting each other throughout Yemen, the pro-government Republican Guards and Central Security, and the pro-opposition First Armored Division.  Each group has increased its efforts to recruit children into their ranks as tensions within the conflict flare.

The exact number of child soldiers currently engaged in the conflict is unknown due to reluctance by the military units to release such statistics, but it has been estimated to be in the thousands.

The United Nations estimates that 20 percent of the rebel fighters and 15 percent of the government affiliated militia are children. In its annual report, the UN added these groups to its “list of shame,” 57 groups around the world that recruit children to fight in armed conflicts, or do other war time harm to their youth populations.

Human Rights Watch has previously noted the presence of numerous soldiers under the age of 18 fighting in the Yemeni conflict, with some as young as 14.  Many of these child soldiers have already served for two years.

Yemeni law does require that individuals be 18 to enlist, but recruiters find ways around this.  The use of forged identification cards is rampant.

“Two months ago, my 14-year-old cousin got an ID card showing he is 18 and he joined the Republican Guards,” Hamid al-Ghurbani, a high school teacher in Sana’a told the Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN). “Last week, I saw him carrying a gun.”

The Yemeni Ministry of Defense admits that it is aware of the problem, but notes that the IDs are “the only reliable document for determining the age of an applicant.”  Most child soldiers have the permission of their parents to join the military, and in some cases the parents are even complicit in the forging of the IDs.  The families are in dire need of the extra income.

A few weeks ago the UN unanimously adopted a resolution against the recruitment of child soldiers. The signatories “call upon member states concerned to take decisive and immediate action against persistent perpetrators of violations and abuses committed against children in situations of armed conflict, and further call upon them to bring to justice those responsible for such violations.”

The challenge, while admirable, is daunting.  Approximately 300,000 children are being used as child soldiers with the numbers constantly in flux do to ever changing conflicts.  Once a child soldier turns 18 they are no longer identified as such.  Their years spent as a child soldier become invisible.

For more information, please see:

Middle East Online — Yemen conflict generates more child soldiers — 22 July 2011

IRIN — Yemen: Conflict generating more child soldiers — 20 July 2011

World Tribune — Unthinkable horror: The targeting of children in 21st century warfare — 19 July 2011

The Times of India — UN adopts resolution against recruiting child soldiers — 13 July 2011

Human Rights Watch — Yemen:  Stop using Children in Armed Forces — 14 April 2011

By Zach Waksman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt – The Tahrir Square protests against Egypt’s ruling Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) that have been ongoing since July 8 took a violent turn yesterday.  Military forces, supplemented by army loyalists who threw stones and Molotov cocktails, opened fire on demonstrators as they made their way toward the headquarters of the Ministry of Defense in Cairo’s Abbasseya district.  As many as 231 were injured, and two protesters are alleged to have been kidnapped.

At least 4,000 people were marching in order to request a clear schedule of plans to fulfill the goals of the revolution that drove former president Hosni Mubarak from power in January.  They are calling for limits on the SCAF’s power and a purge of all government and state institutions, including banks and the media, of corrupt members of the previous regime, among other demands.  But right now, the concern among those present is that the revolution has stalled.

“The military council is against the revolution, and we’re here to put pressure on them to stay with the revolution,” said Ahmed Al-Sharawi, who has been camping out in a traffic circle for over two weeks. “If we go home, the revolution will fail.”

The activists were unable to reach their destination after the army set up barricades of troops, barbed wire, and tanks to block Abbasseya Bridge.  The military surrounded the area, doing nothing to interfere and also making departure impossible. While the army fired live rounds in an effort to disperse the crowd, civilian loyalists climbed onto the roofs of nearby buildings to throw rocks, broken bottles, and Molotov cocktails at the assembled crowd.  Others, some of whom were armed with knives and machetes, made direct attacks on the protesters.  This march, unlike prior, peaceful protests, soon turned into a melee that lasted two hours before riot police fired tear gas into the fray.  Once the activists scattered, a new demonstration began within an hour.

The incident comes on the aftermath of statements made by the SCAF on Friday.  The military council accused the April 6 group, one of the larger protest organizations, of creating a scism between itself and the public.  “The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces urges the public to exercise caution and not to be drawn into this suspicious plot that aims to undermine Egypt’s stability,” the statement said.

But statements such as these are not taken seriously by the protesters.  One participant, Ahmed Hassan, considered the SCAF to be the problem by acting as an instigator of violence.  “How should I trust this army to protect our country when they are turning our own fellow Egyptians against us with statements like these?” he asked.

Despite the recent bloodshed, protesters remain strong.  “We don’t want food or money,” said Al-Sharawi.  “If we get all of our demands, Egypt will be richer than America. The National Association for Change (NAC), another protest organization, has called for a one million man march on August 12.

For more information, please see:

Egyptian Gazette — Egypt’s protesters still camped in Square –24 July 2011

Egyptian Gazette — 1m-man march in Egypt on Aug 12 –24 July 2011

Al-Masry Al-Youm — 143 hurt at clashes in Cairo, two activists reportedly kidnapped — 23 July 2011

Daily News Egypt — Armed men attack thousands marching to ministry of defense; 55 injured — 23 July 2011

Daily News Egypt — Protesters march on defense ministry — 23 July 2011

New York Times — March against Egypt’s Military Collapses into Violence — 23 July 2011

Impunity Watch — Protests continue as new government takes shape in Egypt — 17 July 2011

By Tyler Yates
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

WASHINGTON D.C., United States — United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed concern earlier this week over reports of the wide scale use of violence against women throughout the Middle East to intimidate and punish pro-democratic reformers.

“Rape, physical intimidation, sexual harassment, and even so-called ‘virginity tests’ have taken place in countries throughout the region,” Clinton noted.  “These egregious acts are violations of basic human dignity and run contrary to the democratic aspirations so courageously expressed throughout the region.  It is an affront to all people who are yearning to live in a society free from violence with respect for basic human rights.”

The use of mainlined sexual assault, as a weapon for war, first gained notoriety in the Democratic Republic of Congo during the early 1990’s.  Since that time, it has developed an even more twisted arsenal of usage for reasons of torture and repression.  It has become a key weapon against the dissident women, who dare speak out against their governments, in what have been termed the Arab Spring revolts.

The fact that sexual assault has become such a prevalent issue in the Middle East should come as no surprise.  A UN report, released in early July, revealed some egregious truths about the plight of justice for women worldwide.  Even though such violence has been outlawed in 125 countries, globally 603 million women still live in countries where it is not considered a crime.

The Middle East region has the least number of countries with laws against domestic violence, sexual harassment, and rape.  Dr. Moraz Doraid, the officer-in-charge of the United Nations Women’s Division of Management and Administration, attributes this to cultural generalizations, which lead countries to believe that the problems do not exist because the culture and traditions ensure the protection of women.

Solid data on the amount of incidents of violence against women in the Middle East is almost non-existent.  Victims rarely come forward, and those that do must face a lengthy police reporting process that usually culminates in the perpetrator escaping charges. These women suffer institutional barriers such as lack of autonomy, little knowledge of the law, lack of financial resources, and the threat of permanent stigma.  Such adds injury to insult.

Still, there is some hope of change in the future.  Reports have shown that countries with higher political involvement from women are more likely to serve women’s interests.  The rise in use of sexual assault as a weapon may be a harbinger of a fear that haunts the current traditionalist Middle Eastern regimes.  The women are finding their political voice.

For more information, please see:

Al Arabiya —  Anita Anand: Pursuing Justice for All Women — 18 July 2011

Today’s Zaman — UN report: Turkey US, EU in violence against women — 17 July 2011

Voice of America — Clinton Condemns Sexual Violence in the Mideast — 15 July 2011

The Daily Star — HRW urges Parliament to pass domestic violence bill — 7 July 2011

Kuwait Times — One in three women in Kuwait ‘a domestic violence victim’ — 5 July 2011