Yemen’s child casualties surge under truce: systemic failure of demining, arms control, and humanitarian access

Yemeni communities, particularly in rural and mountainous regions, possess pre-conflict knowledge of landmine navigation and clearance, rooted in oral traditions and communal labor practices. These methods were disrupted by the influx of foreign-made ordnance, which introduced new, unpredictable explosive hazards. Indigenous demining techniques, such as the use of trained animals or community-led risk mapping, are rarely integrated into international efforts, despite their cost-effectiveness and cultural relevance.

Yemen’s militarization traces back to Cold War proxy conflicts, with landmines first deployed during the 1962 North Yemen Civil War and later during the 1994 civil war, establishing a precedent for their use as tools of territorial control. The current crisis mirrors patterns seen in other protracted conflicts, such as Afghanistan and Syria, where foreign interventions and arms proliferation created persistent explosive remnants that outlive formal ceasefires. The failure to address historical patterns of arms trafficking and demining neglect reflects a broader global amnesia about the long-term civilian costs of modern warfare.

In Cambodia, landmine clearance has been led by local NGOs like the Cambodian Self-Help Demining, which trains survivors—often women—to lead demining operations, blending traditional knowledge with modern techniques. The African Union’s *Silencing the Guns* initiative highlights how demining is not just a technical task but a post-conflict reconciliation tool, yet such models are rarely applied in Yemen. Indigenous Australian and Māori approaches to land remediation, which center spiritual and ecological restoration, offer alternative frameworks for treating contaminated land as a site of healing rather than mere hazard.

Peer-reviewed studies confirm that unexploded ordnance (UXO) from foreign-supplied munitions (e.g., US-made cluster bombs, UK-made missiles) accounts for ~45% of child casualties in Yemen, with contamination persisting for decades due to poor storage and environmental conditions. The UN’s *Protocol on Explosive Remnants of War* (2003) mandates clearance within 10 years, but enforcement is weak, and many states—including arms exporters—have not ratified it. Scientific modeling of clearance priorities, such as the *Land Release* methodology, could optimize efforts but is underfunded in Yemen due to aid fragmentation.

Yemeni poets and musicians, such as the late Abdul Karim al-Iryani, have long used art to memorialize the land as a living entity violated by war, framing landmines as a curse on the earth itself. In Sufi traditions, the concept of *fana* (annihilation of the self) could be metaphorically applied to the destruction of land and community, urging a collective reckoning with violence. Contemporary Yemeni artists like Ahmed Jahaf use sculpture made from UXO fragments to critique the global arms trade, but such works are often sidelined in favor of Western-centric humanitarian imagery.

Scenario modeling suggests that without a binding global treaty to halt arms transfers to Yemen and enforce demining timelines, child casualties will continue at current rates, with 1,200 annual victims becoming a new baseline. Alternative futures include a *demining Marshall Plan* for Yemen, funded by arms-exporting states as reparations, or a *landmine-free zone* initiative led by regional organizations like the Arab League. The integration of AI-driven clearance drones and community-based risk education could reduce casualties by 60% within a decade, but these require sustained investment and political will.

Yemeni women, particularly in rural areas, bear disproportionate burdens as caregivers for injured children and as informal deminers, yet their knowledge is excluded from international clearance programs. The Muhamasheen community, historically enslaved and now trapped in poverty, are often forced into hazardous clearance work with no protective equipment or compensation. Internally displaced children, who make up 40% of casualties, are rarely consulted in aid planning, despite their lived expertise in navigating war zones.