Since 2015 political authority in Yemen has been deeply fragmented, marked by the emergence of competing centers of power involving three principal local actors: Ansar Allah (the Houthis), the internationally recognized government (IRG), and the Southern Transitional Council (STC). After the Houthis seized Sanaa in late 2014, President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi’s⁷ government relocated to Aden, which was subsequently designated the IRG’s interim capital. In March 2015, a Saudi-led coalition launched a military intervention aimed at restoring the IRG’s authority and halting further Houthi territorial expansion. The city of Aden thus emerged not only as the symbolic seat of the internationally recognized government but also as a strategic center of power in southern Yemen. From 2015 to 2017, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a key member of the Saudi-led Coalition, played a pivotal role in shaping Aden’s security landscape. During this period, the UAE trained, equipped, and financed local militias such as the Security Belt⁸ and Elite Forces⁹, which assumed significant responsibilities in stabilizing parts of Aden and adjacent governorates.¹⁰ Over time, however, these forces developed a notable degree of autonomy and increasingly aligned themselves with southern interests rather than adhering strictly to the command of the IRG.

In May 2017, the STC was established to formalize southern political aspirations, including calls for greater autonomy of southern Yemen. Backed by UAE-supported armed groups, the STC expanded its influence in Aden and surrounding areas, heightening tensions with the IRG.¹¹ In August 2019, STC aligned forces seized control of key government installations in Aden, including the presidential palace and military camps, in what many observers characterized as a de facto takeover of the interim capital.¹²

A Saudi-brokered Riyadh Agreement signed in November 2019 sought to reconcile the IRG and STC by integrating the latter into governmental institutions and unifying military and security forces.¹³ Implementation of the Riyadh Agreement, however, has been incomplete. Numerous deadlines were missed: key appointments for key positions (e.g. governor, security chief) in Aden were delayed, and the redeployment of security forces proceeded slowly amid ongoing disputes.¹⁴ Several rights organizations have also documented cases of human rights violations including arbitrary detention and forced disappearances carried out by the STC with the support of UAE in Aden.¹⁵

In April 2022, the establishment of the PLC was intended to unify anti-Houthi factions, including the STC, under a single political structure.¹⁶ Despite this institutional change, Aden continued to be governed through overlapping authorities: the STC controls day-to-day governance and security while IRG/PLC institutions maintain formal legitimacy and limited administrative footprint.

Though the UAE progressively started scaling down its overt combat role after 2019, it continues to exert influence through local security actors, investment in infrastructure (especially in southern ports), and political patronage.¹⁷ Local security forces supported by the UAE also continue to operate with no accountability, and families of victims continue to be denied information about the fate and whereabouts of their relatives.¹⁸

By late 2025, this fragile balance collapsed into open confrontation. On 8 December 2025, the STC launched a military offensive eastward, announcing the seizure of Hadramout and Al-Mahra.¹⁹ Saudi-backed government forces quickly countered, retaking the city of Mukalla and other key areas. On 30 December, coalition airstrikes on Mukalla Port, framed as targeting alleged weapons shipments from the UAE to STC forces, damaged civilian infrastructure and displaced families, deepening the humanitarian crisis.²⁰ In response, the UAE announced the completion of its troop withdrawal from Yemen, while the Yemeni government declared the termination of its counterterrorism partnership with Abu Dhabi.²¹

The escalation continued into January 2026. Saudi Arabia ordered the closure of Aden International Airport, severely restricting civilian movement and cutting off vital access to medical care, education, and family reunification.²² Shortly thereafter, Saudi Arabia convened negotiations in Riyadh. The STC president failed to join the delegation, reportedly fleeing to Abu Dhabi, while delegates present were allegedly pressured into announcing the dissolution of the Council.²³ The declaration was swiftly rejected by STC members who remained in Aden. Subsequent Saudi airstrikes on Al-Dhale governorate, an STC stronghold, further inflamed tensions, causing civilian casualties and displacement.²⁴

In the aftermath, President Rashad al-Alimi²⁵ announced on 12 January 2026 the closure of all informal and secret detention centers in the governorates of Aden, Lahj, and Al-Dhale, alongside the release of detainees held unlawfully.²⁶ While this directive marked a positive step, its credibility is contingent upon transparent implementation, independent monitoring, and cooperation from all factions, including UAE-backed units.

As of early 2026, the city of Aden’s political landscape reflects both continuity and rupture: the IRG and PLC retain formal legitimacy, UAE-backed forces continue to wield influence despite the announced withdrawal, and the STC faces an existential crisis amid contested claims of dissolution. These developments underscore the volatility of Aden’s governance, where external patronage, internal fragmentation, and unresolved abuses converge to perpetuate instability.

According to local accounts and urban history narratives, Waddah Hall, locally known as Qa’et Waddah and lying on Aden’s southern edge, was originally used as a public events venue and served as a space for cultural gatherings, social functions, and civic engagement. Its role as a civic landmark reflected Aden’s vibrant social life and its legacy as a cosmopolitan port city.

Since 2016, however, Waddah Hall, often referred to as “Counter-Terrorism prison,” has been repeatedly identified by Yemeni and International rights organizations as a location used for secret detention with horrific conditions.²⁷ This detention facility has since been under the control of Counter-Terrorism²⁸ and security units affiliated with the STC and UAE-backed forces, operating under the authority of Yusran Al Maqtari, head of Counter-terrorism unit in Aden, and Shallal Ali Shayea, the prison’s director.²⁹ According to the United Nations Security Council’s Panel of Experts on Yemen, credible evidence was gathered that STC “forces are systematically torturing men in official and secret prisons, including in Waddah secret prison in Aden Governorate, which reportedly resulted in the death of men whose whereabouts were and still are unknown.” ³⁰ Although there are rumors that Waddah Hall was closed for several years before 2010, its conversion into a detention facility appears to coincide with the security fragmentation that followed the 2015 conflict in Yemen generally and the city of Aden specifically.

For years, the existence of secret detention facilities such as Waddah Hall (as identified by international human rights organizations³¹ and the UN Panel of Experts as operating outside Yemen’s official prison system) and the practice of enforced disappearance in Aden, remained largely absent from public discourse.³² That changed in June 2024, when widespread public outrage was triggered by the abduction of Colonel Ali Ashal Al-Jaadani, a senior officer from Abyan, by Counter-Terrorism forces affiliated with the STC. His disappearance mobilized families of other missing persons, some of whom have been forcibly disappeared since 2016, leading to mass protests across southern governorates demanding truth and accountability.³³

The case reignited scrutiny of Waddah Hall, which was long associated with incommunicado detention and torture. Despite reported changes in leadership within the Counter-Terrorism apparatus, including the escape of Yusran Al-Maqtari to Abu Dhabi in July 2024 after Aden’s police chief issued an arrest warrant against him, and news of the facility’s closure, families have received no information about the fate or whereabouts of their loved ones.³⁴

Human rights monitors have received numerous reports and complaints from relatives of detainees, including mothers, wives, sisters, and daughters, regarding the arrest and disappearance of their loved ones in Aden. AMA and CIHRS have documented many of these cases, conducted interviews with families of former detainees, and gathered detailed information on detention conditions at Waddah Hall. The findings point to a pattern of abuse, denial of due process, and prolonged incommunicado detention.

For those who remain forcibly disappeared, information about their fate and treatment is scarce and typically reaches families through informal channels, such as former detainees or sympathetic individuals working within the prison system. In the case of Marwan, his family was unofficially informed of his detention at Waddah Hall only after a visit by a locally formed committee established by the STC.⁴⁷ Prior to this, the family had searched for him for nine months without success. A week after receiving this information, Marwan was transferred to Bir Ahmed Prison.

During a visit at Bir Ahmed prison, his mother described him as “alarmingly thin from hunger” and noted visible marks of torture on his wrists and legs. He reported that while held at Waddah Hall, Aden’s Counterterrorism head, Yusran Al Maqtari, and officer Samer Jandoub were directly involved in his torture. He explained that the marks on his wrists were caused by being suspended for eight hours with his legs dangling. He further recounted being beaten, electrocuted with an exposed air conditioner cable, and struck on the legs with a metal door.

While detained at Waddah Hall, Marwan was subjected to threats and coercion aimed at forcing a confession. Officers threatened to harm his family, explicitly stating they would bring in his mother and siblings and assault them if he refused to admit to the allegations of belonging to a terrorist organization. Under conditions of continuous beating and torture by suffocation with a wet towel placed inside his mouth, Marwan ultimately agreed to be filmed in a video confessing to membership in ISIS. Following this coerced confession, he was transferred to Bir Ahmed Prison.

Ibrahim, Marwan and Omar’s father, who was detained for eighteen days after extensive search for his sons, described being held in solitary confinement for four days under conditions so extreme he could not distinguish day from night.⁴⁸ Guards refused to speak to him, addressing him only as “Hajj” and ignoring his repeated requests for basic information, including the time for prayers. Before being transferred to a communal cell, authorities presented the father with a document and pressured him to sign a confession stating he had received money from ISIS. They dismissed his fears, and his rejection of what was written in the paper, telling him, “Just sign, it’s nothing serious.” The man, who suffers from hypertension and had recently suffered a stroke, was forced to sign the document despite its fabricated contents. He pleaded to the officers and told them he would stop pursuing his sons’ cases if they released him.

In the case of Karam, his family only learned of his whereabouts one year after he was arrested in September 2019 from his home in the city of Aden, when he appeared at Bir Ahmed Prison.⁴⁹ By then, he looked physically unwell and showed signs of psychological distress and disorientation. During a family visit, the detainee disclosed that he had been coerced at gunpoint into recording a confession. He stated that prison officers had subjected him to torture including electrocution and threatened to harm his family if he refused to comply. He told his family that he was handed a prepared script and forced to recite on camera that he was a member in an armed group and affiliated with ISIS.

Karam showed obvious signs of facial trauma, particularly to the jaw. According to his family, he struggled to speak and showed signs of intense pain. He told them that Yusran Al Maqtari repeatedly stomped on his face with his military boots, resulting in permanent injury to his jaw. He also showed marks of torture on his wrists and told the family that prison officers used to hang him by the wrists from a moving vehicle, dragging him for extended periods. He told his family that his vision has worsened and he also suffers from back pain after spending a year in Waddah Hall in these horrific conditions. The family told AMA, “He told us that he was held in an overcrowded cell and were provided only one meal a day. And when they asked for water, the officers responded to drink their own urine.”

Karam was moved to Bir Ahmed Prison after he was forced to confess to belonging to a terrorist group. Over the following eight months, he appeared before a judge at the Criminal Court, who eventually ruled that he was innocent.⁵⁰ Despite this ruling, Karam was then subjected to a three-month enforced disappearance. He later reappeared in Bir Ahmed Prison, after a different judge tried his case again and sentenced him to death. After the family submitted an appeal, the death sentence was overturned and replaced with a ten-year prison term, which he is currently serving at Bir Ahmed Prison.

On the morning of 24 July 2016, Nabil, a private sector employee described by his wife as “not an activist or anything, just a normal citizen” was arrested by masked men believed to be affiliated with Counterterrorism forces in Aden.⁵¹ As in many other cases, the family was not officially notified of the arrest and only learned of it through neighbors who witnessed the incident.

For a month, the family searched for him without success. Then, they received a brief phone call from Nabil, informing them that he was being held at Mansourah Prison and was permitted to receive visits. During a ten-minute visit conducted through a glass partition, he disclosed that he had previously been detained at Waddah Hall, where he was subjected to torture and forced to record a false confession claiming affiliation with a terrorist group. He reported being electrocuted and beaten so severely that he was unable to open his hands.

Shortly after this visit, Nabil, was removed from Mansourah Prison by security forces affiliated with Waddah Hall. For nine years, his whereabouts have remained unknown, and he continues to be subjected to enforced disappearance. No charges were ever brought against him, and his family has received no official information regarding his fate.

Subjecting detainees to torture and coerced confessions, often recorded and used to falsely implicate them in terrorism-related charges, is explicitly prohibited under Yemeni law. Article 6 of the Yemeni Criminal Procedure Law states: It is prohibited to torture the accused or treat them in a manner that is inhumane, physically, or mentally harmful to coerce them into confession; any statement proven to have been made by the accused or witnesses under such conditions shall be disregarded.⁵² Furthermore, Article 16 stipulates that criminal proceedings in cases of torture do not lapse with the passage of time.⁵³ The systematic use of torture and coerced confessions in facilities such as Waddah Hall therefore not only undermines the integrity of justice but also constitutes a direct violation of Yemen’s own legal framework.

Several testimonies that the families have gathered, either during rare visits following the transfer of detainees to new facilities or after their release, consistently show the use of solitary confinement and inhumane cell conditions. Survivors and relatives recounted to our organizations prolonged periods of isolation in cramped, windowless cells, without access to basic hygiene or sunlight. These accounts reveal a pattern of detention practices designed not only to punish but to degrade the detainees and break their physical and psychological states.

Bilal, aged 49, was vocal on social media platforms such as Twitter (X) and Facebook about the deteriorating economic conditions in the city of Aden and the struggles of the Yemeni people with the scarcity of water and electricity.⁵⁴ Bilal used to publicly criticize the UAE and its intervention in Aden. He was forcibly detained on 3 May 2021 by masked armed men while returning home with two colleagues. He then was transferred between multiple locations before being held at Waddah Hall for a period of one year and three months. His wife recounted to CIHRS: “He was coming home with two of his colleagues when armed masked men arrested him with one of his colleagues.” While the colleague was released a few weeks later, he remained visibly traumatized and shared almost no information about the incident or Bilal.

The family undertook extensive efforts to locate Bilal but received no official information regarding his whereabouts. He eventually returned home unexpectedly after one year and three months; he was never formally charged or prosecuted. His wife described his condition upon arrival: “He looked like he was back from the dead, like he had aged ten years.” Bilal later disclosed that he had been held in solitary confinement in a cell known locally as el daghata, (the pressure cell) a term associated with extreme physical restriction. The cell was so tight that he was forced to use plastic bags as a toilet. He recounted that officers blindfolded him, drove him to an unfamiliar street, and pushed him out of the vehicle before he managed to find transportation home. Out of fear for his family’s safety, Bilal refused to share further details about his detention. His wife added: “He was scared for us. He stayed with us for a couple of days before fleeing the city to avoid being rearrested.”

Yassin, who was released after being held in Waddah Hall for two weeks, told his family about the psychological abuse and intimidation he and other prisoners were subjected to.⁵⁵ At one point and after being beaten with rifles, the officers forced him to choose his method of death, whether he preferred execution, hanging, or being shot. “Prepare yourselves,” he and the other prisoners were told, “tomorrow you will be executed.”

The psychological torment escalated when he and a group of detainees were blindfolded and taken by Counterterrorism forces from Waddah Hall, driven to a remote location, and told they were about to be killed. Left in the street, still blindfolded, they waited in silence, believing they were moments away from death. They were eventually approached by a passerby. Only then did they realize they had been abandoned and released without explanation, in an unfamiliar area.

This deliberate simulation of execution constitutes a form of psychological torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment under international law. The use of such terrorizing tactics, inflicting extreme fear without due process or accountability, reflects a broader pattern of abuse that demands urgent investigation and redress. Survivors of these practices carry lasting trauma, while the absence of justice perpetuates impunity for those responsible.

On 1 July 2016, Counterterrorism forces in Aden arrested Hassan while he was spending time with friends after Taraweeh prayers during Ramadan.⁵⁶ He was taken along with one other friend, both handcuffed and with their faces covered in plastic bags. Like all the documented cases, the arrest was carried out without a warrant or any official notification to the family. For a month, the family searched for Hassan without receiving any information about his whereabouts. Eventually, they received a brief and alarming phone call from him, facilitated unofficially by a prison officer. According to the family, “He sounded terrified and said, ‘Do everything you can to get me out of here, you must get me out of here,’ and then he hung up.” He informed them that he was being held at Waddah Hall.

Subsequently, a relative employed as a prison officer at Waddah Hall informed the family, off the record, that he had seen Hassan in detention and that he was being subjected to torture. This included being handcuffed and suspended from a wall, a method consistent with other documented cases of abuse in the facility. Since that call, the family has received no official confirmation of Hassan’s detention, nor any information about his legal status or physical condition. His fate and whereabouts remain unknown.

Families of current or former detainees at Waddah Hall reported that their relatives were systematically denied access to medical care, in violation of international human rights and detention standards. Many detainees entered custody with chronic illnesses or other pre-existing health vulnerabilities that were exacerbated by torture, ill treatment, inadequate living conditions, and prolonged neglect. Others developed serious physical and psychological complications as a direct result of abuse in custody.

The city of Aden’s climate itself compounds the suffering of detainees. In the summer months, temperatures regularly soar above 40°C, turning poorly ventilated cells into stifling environments that intensify dehydration, heat exhaustion, and the progression of chronic illnesses. For detainees already weakened by torture, neglect, and lack of medical care, the extreme heat magnifies health risks and accelerates deterioration.

According to testimonies, medical treatment was entirely absent in Waddah Hall, and even in secondary locations, such as Bir Ahmed Prison, available care was minimal, inconsistent, and often dependent on families, who were frequently barred from delivering essential medication. The deliberate obstruction of medical care reflects a broader policy of dehumanization and punitive disregard for detainees’ health and rights.

Marwan, a previously healthy 21‑year‑old, suffered severe medical consequences as a direct result of torture.⁵⁷ Prolonged suspension from a wall caused lasting damage to his wrists and joints, while repeated electrocution may have left enduring effects. He later reported to his mother that he was experiencing symptoms consistent with irritable bowel syndrome and hemorrhoids, conditions that were exacerbated by the harsh detention environment.

At Waddah Hall, Marwan was denied all medical care. Following his transfer to Bir Ahmed Prison, his mother was allowed to provide him with paracetamol through the prison administration, but he was offered no further treatment. His ongoing medical needs remain unaddressed, underscoring the systematic neglect of detainees’ health.

Anwar was arrested in December 2022 and remains forcibly disappeared to date. His family learned of his detention only through accounts from former detainees who reported seeing him inside Waddah Hall. Anwar suffers from high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes, a condition that requires consistent medication and monitoring.⁵⁸ According to his family, he has already lost consciousness inside Waddah Hall due to unmanaged blood sugar levels. His wife explained: “Those who saw him inside told us he had already fainted because of his diabetes. We tried to deliver his medicine to Waddah Hall, but the prison officers refused to meet with us.”

Given Waddah Hall’s notorious reputation for harsh conditions, lack of medical care, and widespread suffering among detainees, Anwar’s family fears the worst for his health. They believe he is being denied essential treatment and warn that without access to medication, his condition could deteriorate rapidly, potentially leading to a diabetic coma or other life‑threatening complications. Nasser, who has polio affecting one leg and relies on walking aids, was subjected to additional harm during his arrest when security forces violently discarded his crutches.⁵⁹ Deprived of essential mobility support, his condition reportedly deteriorated, placing him at heightened risk of permanent damage to his leg and overall health. His family remains deeply concerned about his ability to walk and the deterioration of his physical state. As he remains forcibly disappeared and his relatives have received no information about his whereabouts, they believe he has been denied necessary medical care or assistance.

Several detainees such as Seif and Ibrahim, who suffer from chronic conditions such as hypertension have been denied access to essential medication due to the lack of medical care in Waddah Hall.⁶⁰ Without treatment, high blood pressure can rapidly escalate, increasing the risk of stroke, heart attack, kidney damage, and other life-threatening complications. Families report that even when they attempted to deliver prescribed medicine, prison authorities refused to accept it. Such deliberate neglect places detainees at constant risk of medical emergencies including death.

Detention practices at Waddah Hall are marked not only by torture and medical neglect, but also by a complete absence of due process. Detainees are held without formal charges, denied access to lawyers, and prevented from communicating with their families. Many are subjected to coerced confessions under torture, which are then used to justify their continued detention despite the absence of credible evidence. The secrecy surrounding arrests and enforced disappearances further strips detainees of their legal rights, leaving families in prolonged uncertainty. This situation is compounded by the limited financial capacities of families, who are often unable to afford legal representation. Even when families attempt to secure lawyers, the lack of transparency and obstruction by authorities renders meaningful legal assistance nearly impossible. As a result, detainees remain trapped in a system where their rights to defense, fair trial, and judicial oversight are systematically denied.

A lawyer (who preferred to remain anonymous) providing legal aid to detainees and their families in Aden described in an interview a pattern of arrests carried out without judicial warrants, often at night or in public spaces, and followed by enforced disappearances in undisclosed locations.⁶¹ He explained that many detainees were charged with terrorism or “disturbing security” based on weak or malicious reports, while others were targeted for their political opinions or personal disputes with security officials. According to his account, detainees were frequently denied timely court hearings and subjected to torture and ill‑treatment. Even those acquitted were often released only on bail and strict conditions rather than unconditionally.

Youssef’s mother attempted to secure legal representation for her son, but the lawyer she hired was unable to access any information regarding his arrest or detention.⁶² The only confirmation she received came when she personally went to Waddah Hall and met with Major General Shallal Ali Shayea, who acknowledged that her son was being held there. Beyond this, the lawyer was powerless: Youssef was never officially charged with any offense and was denied access to legal counsel. This complete obstruction of legal process left the family without any means to challenge his detention or safeguard his rights.

Bassel was arrested on 16 July 2024, yet his family was never formally informed of his arrest or place of detention.⁶³ They only learned of his whereabouts through a former detainee who reported seeing him inside Waddah Hall. In their search for legal assistance, the family found no lawyer willing to represent them, citing fear and intimidation. Bassel remains detained without charge, without access to legal defense, and without any judicial oversight, reflecting the pervasive climate of terror that prevents families from pursuing justice.

Hassan’s family reported that they hired a lawyer for a period, but the effort proved entirely futile.⁶⁴ Despite the financial costs, the lawyer was unable to obtain any information or achieve progress with the authorities. He accompanied the family in visiting multiple governmental offices without result and ultimately withdrew from the case after expressing fear and a sense of being threatened. Hassan remains detained without charge since his arrest in July 2016, while his family has been left without legal recourse or protection.

At Waddah Hall, Marwan and Omar were tortured and forced to confess to being members of ISIS.⁶⁵ These coerced confessions formed the basis of their transfer to Bir Ahmed Prison, where the family was finally able to hire a lawyer as they were notified that they will stand before the Criminal Court. Upon reviewing the case files, the lawyer discovered that in addition to the ISIS charges, the brothers were also accused of killing a neighbor. However, the case papers contained contradictory information: the alleged killing was recorded on two different dates. During her interview, the mother said, “The lawyer pointed out to the judge, ‘How can a man die twice on two different days?’”

Despite both brothers being implicated in the same case and facing identical charges, the judiciary sentenced one brother to ten years’ imprisonment, while the other has yet to receive any formal sentence. Both remain detained in Bir Ahmed Prison, and their lawyer’s repeated requests for further court hearings have been ignored.

These cases illustrate the dual violations faced by detainees: first, the extraction of confessions under torture at Waddah Hall, and second, the deeply flawed judicial process at Bir Ahmed Prison, where contradictory evidence is disregarded, sentences are arbitrary, and detainees are denied their right to timely and fair hearings.

According to his own account relayed to family members, Karam was transferred to Bir Ahmed Prison after being forced to record a confession while bearing visible torture marks on his face and hands at Waddah Hall.⁶⁶ Initially, the Criminal Court found him innocent. However, shortly thereafter he was forcibly disappeared again by Counterterrorism forces. During this period, his family, facing severe financial constraints, was unable to hire a lawyer and remained unaware of his reappearance in Bir Ahmed Prison. They later learned that Karam had been sentenced to death in absentia, based solely on the coerced video confession recorded before in Waddah Hall in which he appeared with clear signs of torture. Once the family discovered the sentence, they submitted an appeal. The court subsequently reviewed the case and commuted the death penalty to ten years’ imprisonment.

Karam remains detained under a judgment that reflects both the reliance on torture‑tainted confessions and the absence of fair trial guarantees. He is currently serving his sentence in Bir Ahmed Prison. Due to the family’s limited financial resources and the irregular visitation policies enforced by the prison administration, they are rarely able to visit him.

Families of detainees consistently report that their attempts to seek information or file complaints through police stations and security administration offices have yielded no results. Complaints are routinely ignored, leaving families without any legal recourse or acknowledgment of their sons’ detention.

Years of armed conflict, institutional fragmentation, and political interference have entrenched a pervasive culture of impunity in Yemen. Despite extensive documentation of serious abuses by all parties to the conflict, including unlawful killings, arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, torture, and indiscriminate attacks, no perpetrator has been held to account. The absence of effective investigative and judicial mechanisms at both the national and international levels has denied victims access to justice and allowed violations to continue unchecked.

In 2017, the UN Human Rights Council established the Group of Eminent International and Regional Experts (GEE) to investigate human rights violations and, where possible, identify those responsible.⁷³ Across several reporting cycles, the GEE documented widespread and systematic abuses, warning that many of the violations observed, including enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention, and attacks on civilians, may amount to war crimes. The GEE repeatedly emphasized the near-total absence of accountability and highlighted the failure of parties to the conflict to conduct credible, impartial investigations.

Despite its critical role, the Human Rights Council voted in 2021 not to renew the GEE’s mandate, after massive lobbying from Saudi Arabia, effectively dismantling the only independent international investigative body dedicated to Yemen. CIHRS and 33 other human rights organizations condemned the decision, noting that its termination leaves victims without a meaningful pathway to justice and further entrenches impunity. ⁷⁴

The UN Panel of Experts, established under Security Council Resolution 2140, has repeatedly documented violations and highlighted the obstruction of accountability mechanisms, including abuses in detention facilities such as Waddah Hall.⁷⁵ Its reports underscore the role of external actors and the fragmentation of authority as key drivers of impunity.

The Officer of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), with its country office now in Aden, continues to monitor and report on violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.⁷⁶ However, its capacity to intervene has been constrained by access restrictions and the detention of UN staff by the Houthis, further weakening international oversight.⁷⁷

Apart from the international efforts, the NCIAVHR was established by the Yemeni government to document abuses and support accountability.⁷⁸ While the Commission has issued reports and conducted investigations, its work remains limited by restricted access, capacity constraints, and questions regarding its independence and impartiality. Its findings have rarely translated into prosecutions, and in practice it lacks the authority and resources necessary to address violations committed by powerful states or security forces.

The accountability gap is stark in Aden and southern governorates, where UAE-backed forces, including counterterrorism units and the Security Belt unit among others, have operated a network of unofficial or secret detention sites.⁷⁹ Waddah Hall, as proved in this report, has become emblematic of these abuses, with numerous cases of arbitrary detention, prolonged incommunicado detention, and enforced disappearance documented. Detainees have been held without charge, denied due process, and subjected to torture or ill-treatment. Families have faced extended periods without information about the fate or whereabouts of their relatives, and many were threatened or discouraged from speaking publicly.

Despite widespread reporting, no effective investigations or prosecutions have been carried out. The overlap of political authority, shifting security control in Aden, and the involvement of external actors, particularly the UAE, has created an environment in which accountability is structurally blocked. Yemeni authorities lack both the jurisdictional reach and the political leverage to investigate abuses committed by UAE-backed forces, while international mechanisms capable of addressing cross-border responsibility have either been dismantled or remain absent.

The absence of accountability has profound implications for victims, families, and the prospects for peace. Victims are denied truth, redress, and recognition, while the lack of deterrence contributes to the continuation of violations. For Yemen’s future, impunity threatens any meaningful process of reconciliation, undermining trust in institutions and weakening the foundations for a durable political settlement.