The United Nations said approximately 53 UN staff remain under arbitrary detention in Yemen, with some detained since 2021, and that the figure increased over the summer months.

Spokesperson Farhan said the UN provided a breakdown of the detainee counts in earlier briefings and that the organization is engaged "at all levels" — including with de facto authorities and other regional actors — to secure the release of UN personnel and of non‑UN humanitarian and civil society staff.

Why it matters: detained humanitarian personnel hinder relief operations and raise protection and access concerns for aid delivery in conflict‑affected areas.

Farhan added that there has been some movement of international staff into and out of areas controlled by de facto authorities and that the UN is also tracking detentions of international non‑governmental organization staff, civil society actors and embassy personnel.

The spokesperson referred journalists to previous briefings for a fuller breakdown of dates of detention and categories of personnel; during this briefing he did not provide a detailed per‑person list or legal status for each detainee.