Madame Chairperson,

Yemen’s Houthi authorities have harassed the Bahá’í religious minority since taking power. Today they continue to endanger their lives while trying to seize their properties.

Nineteen Bahá’ís have recently been summoned to a trial because of their beliefs. They may be convicted and jailed on baseless charges including “showing kindness” and “displaying rectitude of conduct”. The authorities have threatened to brand the Bahá’ís as fugitives if they do not attend.

We have seen this before. Six other Bahá’ís were arrested between 2013 and 2017, jailed and tortured, one of them even condemned to death. A UN-backed effort secured their release in July 2020 on the condition they leave Yemen. The Houthis declared these six as “fugitives” despite having forced the exile.

The names of the nineteen Baha’is may also soon be published in the media which would endanger their lives since violence against Bahá’ís has been publicly encouraged by senior Houthi figures.

We also fear the Houthis are using the charges to confiscate assets and properties of the Bahá’ís. Using persecution to run people out of the country and seize their belongings is reminiscent of what the Bahá’ís in Iran have faced for decades.

Yemen has endured years of tragedy. The Houthis have pledged to respect their diverse country by protecting the rights of all Yemenis regardless of their religious affiliations. How can they hope to achieve peace as long as the rights of the Bahá’ís are denied?