Madame Chairperson,

Over a year has passed since the six Yemeni Bahá’ís who were arrested, jailed and tortured in Sana’a were forced to exile. How can the Houthis release prisoners, force them to leave the country, and then brand them as fugitives simply because of their religious beliefs? They are not fugitives, they are loyal Yemenis who want to return to their homeland and to serve their country, shoulder to shoulder with their compatriots.

Deplorably, however, this is not allowed by the Houthi authorities, who are subjecting not only these individuals but the entire Bahá’í community in Yemen to a religious persecution characterized by violence, threats, hate speech and confiscation of properties and assets.

Moreover, a case against nineteen Bahá’ís remains open, with baseless charges including “showing kindness” and “displaying rectitude of conduct”. 

These human rights violations have been amply documented by the Group of Eminent Experts, but there seems to be no will on the part of the Houthis to cease these persecutions which are reminiscent of what the Bahá’ís in Iran have faced for decades.

Can the Eminent Experts indicate what response they have received from the Houthis regarding the denial of the rights of the Bahá’ís and the restrictions of their freedoms? How can they hope to achieve peace as long as all the Yemenis are not allowed to leave side by side and work together for the betterment of their country? And what can the International community do in order for the Houthis to commit to giving the Bahá’ís and the entire Yemeni society the right to freedom of religion or belief, equal citizenship and stop all forms of human rights violations?