The UN Refugee Agency UNHCR denounced the terrible conditions for migrants and refugees landing in Yemen, including being arrested, detained, abused and then pushed out to sea or forcibly returned. "Unabated conflict, deteriorating economic conditions and increasing criminality are exposing to harm and exploitation," the organization said.
UNHCR said since February of this year it has been working on the situation of some 100 new arrivals to Yemen who have been arrested and kept in detention, faced with threats of removal or deportation, and subject to extortion and various forms of abuse either at the hands of traffickers or during their detention. It said there are numerous reports of abuse inside detention facilities, and some new arrivals have been subjected to physical and sexual violence. Survivors told UNHCR they had been shot at and regularly beaten. They also reported rapes of adults and children and humiliations including forced nudity, being forced to witness summary executions, and denial of food.
People forced onto smugglers' boats
UNHCR said it has received reports of people being forced by smugglers on to boats off the Yemeni shoreline. In January this year, more than 50 Somalis were reported to have drowned during one of these operations. It said many of those who are pushed back across the Gulf of Aden fall prey once again to smugglers and traffickers who lure them in to re-attempting the journey, while others are subject to extortion even during their deportation. In the face of this insecurity and reports of abuse, UNHCR is calling on all state and non-state actors effectively controlling detention facilities where new arrivals are being held to ensure those being detained are treated humanely and with dignity in accordance with refugee and human rights law.