Maat for Peace, Development and Human Rights condemned the second terrorist incident perpetrated by the Houthi militia after less than a week from the first incident. This attack targeted civilian and military facilities in the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. On Monday morning, January 24, 2022, the Houthi militia fired two Zulfiqar ballistic missile on Al-Jawf Governorate in Yemen, targetting Al Dhafra Air Base in Abu Dhabi. In addition, it targeted Samad-3 aircraft and other civilian facilities in Dubai. There were no casualties, according to a statement by the UAE Ministry of Defense. In conjunction with the terrorist attack on the UAE, the Houthi militia targeted military and civilian sites in the Jizan and Asir region with Iranian-made missiles (Samad -1 and Qasef 2K).

Maat confirms that by repeating its terrorist attacks, the Houthi militia insists on violating international human rights law, as these attacks represent a grave violation of the right to life guaranteed by all international conventions and agreements. The Houthi militia also violates the consensus expressed by members of the Human Rights Council that when armed groups operate in similar way to the state, they are obligated to respect international human rights law.

For his part, Ayman Okeil, the international human rights expert and president of Maat, said that the Houthi militia’s recently-carried out terrorist attack confirms the militia’s determination to intensify these attacks on its neighboring countries, which contradicts the principle of good neighborliness contained in the Charter of the United Nations, and the continuation of these attacks undermines all efforts made to build peace and stability in the Middle East and the Arab Gulf region. Okeil called on states to refrain from providing the Houthi militia with weapons and drone manufacturing technology in accordance with Security Council Res. No. 1373, which prohibited providing any kind of support to armed groups, and Res. No. “1540” banning the delivery of armed aircraft technology to non-state actors.

Okeil also called for adherence to what was stated in the Berlin Memorandum drawn up by the Global Counter-Terrorism Forum, which included working to prevent the arrival of drones to armed groups as a threat to national armies. Okeil stressed for the international collective responsibility in confronting terrorist crimes, and the importance of tireless international solidarity in combating and clearly condemning these grave violations. He also called for the adoption of a more effective strategy in confronting terrorism wherever it occurs, drying up its sources, and punishing the countries that support it.

Maat renews its demand for the Human Rights Council to hold an extraordinary session to discuss the violations of the Houthis. Maat has previously called on the international community to designate the Houthis as a terrorist group, because the terrorist crimes of the Houthi militia constitute grave violations of human rights that require accountability and prevention of impunity. Maat also calls on the international community to work on issuing a legally-binding instrument that prevents the arrival of drones to armed groups due to the imminent danger these drones pose to the lives of civilians.