Yemen: Government Escalates Repression Against Civil Society

On 27 November 2025 MoSAL made a decision to prohibit all civil society actors from engaging with Mwatana for Human Rights, a Yemeni nongovernmental organization that documents human rights abuses by all warring parties in Yemen. This move follows many other instances over the last few years in which the Yemeni government and MoSAL, as well as the Southern Transitional Council (STC), have obstructed the work of Yemeni civil society organizations, including the Yemen Journalists Syndicate and the Yemen Women's Union.

The decision, issued under reference number (1001), instructs local councils, social affairs offices, and civil society organizations in areas under the internationally recognized government's authority to "refrain from any interaction with the entity called Mwatana for Human Rights" and to treat it as an "unauthorized organization" under Yemeni law.

In its explanation, the Ministry linked the prohibition to concerns about terrorism and alleged ties to Ansar Allah (Houthis), framing the ban as necessary to "maintain the legality and safety of civil society work." In practice, however, this directive weaponizes counterterrorism and security narratives to criminalize engagement with one of Yemeni human rights organization, further shrinking the space for civil society work.

The decision reflects a broader pattern of repression against civil society, human rights defenders, and journalists by authorities across Yemen, including in the south. Organizations in Aden and other governorates controlled by the government and the STC have faced harassment, arbitrary closures, and administrative obstacles.

MoSAL has refused to renew the registration of several organizations, including Mwatana, as well as the Yemen Women's Union and the Yemen Journalists' Syndicate, particularly where they're seen as working across the whole of Yemen. In 2024, CIHRS conducted interviews with six civil society organizations regarding restrictions they faced from the government. None of the organizations were able to submit their applications-- all six were verbally rejected.

The directive not only undermines the vital role of civil society in Yemen but also violates Yemen's obligations under international law to protect freedom of association and the work of human rights defenders. The decision also violates Yemen's Law on Associations and Foundations, which, under Article 3, stipulates authorities must "ensure that associations and foundations can carry out their activities with complete freedom and independence, in a manner consistent with their social responsibilities, and to simplify procedures and facilitate processes related to the right to establish associations and foundations, enabling them to fulfill their mission to the fullest extent."

It further isolates survivors of human rights and armed-conflict violations and their families, who rely on independent organizations to have their voices heard. Allowing this ban to stand will set a dangerous precedent, effectively giving a green light for politicized attacks on civil society organizations and opening the door to more organizations being subjected to similar threats. Along with attacks on journalists and human rights defenders, these measures risk silencing independent voices across Yemen, dismantling the fragile space that remains for accountability, justice, and the defense of human rights.

We, the undersigned civil society organizations, call on the internationally recognized government to immediately rescind their decision and ensure that all civil society groups can operate freely and safely. International actors, including the United Nations and donor governments, should press all parties in Yemen to end their harassment of human rights defenders and guarantee protection for Yemen's civil society.

List of signatories:

1. Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies
2. Human Rights Watch
3. IFEX
4. Watch for Human Rights (Watch4HR)
5. SAM Organization for Rights and Liberties
6. International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), in the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
7. Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR)
8. World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders