The Trust has been working to document and combat discrimination and other human rights abuses in Yemen since 2014, in the context of the project Protecting and empowering human rights defenders in Yemen and improving their capacity to challenge human rights abuses, funded by the European Union through its European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights. As part of this project, the Trust has been working to develop a comprehensive report on equality and non-discrimination in Yemen, based on a combination of primary in-country field research and extensive desk-based research. This report is in the final stages of publication and is due to be launched in early July 2018.

In summary, our submission focuses on violations of international human rights law committed since September 2014, in particular violations of the rights to equality and non-discrimination, and discriminatory violations of other human rights. The Trust’s key finding is that the conflict has not affected the Yemeni population in a uniform manner. Rather, the conflict has had a particular impact on groups who have historically been subject to discrimination and marginalisation – such as women and girls, members of the Muhamasheen community, and members of religious minorities – who have become more vulnerable to existing types of discrimination, as well as facing new forms of discriminatory treatment and exclusion. Furthermore, new vulnerable groups have arisen as a result of the conflict – in particular, a large population of internally displaced persons – whose enjoyment of fundamental rights is restricted.