- Updated October 2, 2026
Years Listed
Each shaded box corresponds to a year the country appeared on the CSPA list and what types of waivers it received, if any.
Yemen has appeared on the CSPA list for sixteen consecutive years beginning in 2010. The U.S. president waived, either in part or in full, CSPA prohibitions against the provision of U.S. arms sales and military assistance to Yemen for thirteen of these fifteen years, resulting in the provision of more than $287.7 million in arms sales and military assistance. Specifically, the president has waived nearly $50 million in Direct Commercial Sales, more than $78.9 million in Foreign Military Financing, more than $5.8 million in International Military Education and Training, and more than $152.9 million in Section 1206 or Section 333 assistance. The president denied Yemen $225,000 in Direct Commercial Sales in FY2019 and $22,338 in Excess Defense Articles in FY2017 due to CSPA prohibitions.1These calculations are based upon publicly available data. See the ‘Methodology’ page for an in-depth review of the Tracker’s methodology and sources.
Total Waived and Prohibited
Since the CSPA took effect.
According to the U.S. State Department, the Republic of Yemen Government (ROYG) and government-aligned forces (particularly the Security Belt Forces, a Yemeni government-aligned paramilitary group) have recruited and used child soldiers since 2009. Child soldier recruitment accelerated following the Houthi takeover of the Yemeni government in 2014 and the ensuing armed conflict.2Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Yemen,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2015, pp. 364, https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/245365.pdf (https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/2015/). In 2019, the UN Group of Experts on Yemen reported that all parties to the war had recruited and used more than 3,000 children in their operations. Children have been used by government and government-affiliated forces and other armed groups (including the Houthis) in combatant roles, to guard checkpoints, to lay land mines, to drive military vehicles, and within other support roles such as supply delivery.3Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Yemen – Government Efforts,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2024, https://www.state.gov/reports/2024-trafficking-in-persons-report/yemen/. Between 2023 and 2024, the U.S. State Department cited a continuance of the recruitment and use of child soldiers by government and government-affiliated armed forces despite the reduction of military operations after the six-month truce in 2022.4Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Yemen,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2024, https://www.state.gov/reports/2024-trafficking-in-persons-report/yemen/. As of the reporting period of the 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report (April 2024 to March 2025), there was a notable increase in the recruitment, training, and mobilization of children in the conflict by the Houthis (particularly after the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict), while recruitment and use by government and government-affiliated armed forces has continued on a limited basis.5Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Yemen,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2025, https://www.stimson.org/project/child-soldiers/cspa-implementation-tracker/country-profiles/yemen/.
The Yemeni government has taken some steps to address the recruitment and use of child soldiers. The government signed a UN Action Plan in 2014 and a roadmap agreement in 2018 to prevent the recruitment of child soldiers, which included the establishment of specific steps for the release of children serving in its armed forces.6Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict. “Children, Not Soldiers: Yemen Signs Action Plan to End Recruitment and Use of Children by Armed Forces,” 14 May 2014, https://childrenandarmedconflict.un.org/2014/05/yemen-signs-action-plan/.; Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Yemen,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2025, https://www.stimson.org/project/child-soldiers/cspa-implementation-tracker/country-profiles/yemen/. However, officials have not reported demobilizing any child soldiers in the past several years.7Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Yemen,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2022, https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-trafficking-in-persons-report/yemen.; Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Yemen,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2023, https://www.state.gov/reports/2023-trafficking-in-persons-report/yemen.; Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Yemen,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2024, https://www.state.gov/reports/2024-trafficking-in-persons-report/yemen/.; Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Yemen,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2025, https://www.stimson.org/project/child-soldiers/cspa-implementation-tracker/country-profiles/yemen/. Actions conducted by the ROYG from April 2023 to March 2025 (the reporting period of the 2024 and 2025 Trafficking in Persons Reports) included establishing child protection units in all military regions, conducting field visits to both disseminate directives banning child recruitment and to verify the absence of children in military ranks, hosting a training for 80 military liaison officers on identification and prevention of child soldier use within their units, and a two-day workshop to review implementation of the 2014 Action Plan and 2018 Roadmap.8Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Yemen – Government Efforts,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2024, https://www.state.gov/reports/2024-trafficking-in-persons-report/yemen/.; Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Yemen,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2025, https://www.stimson.org/project/child-soldiers/cspa-implementation-tracker/country-profiles/yemen/.
Since 2021, U.S. presidents have been required to include justifications for CSPA waivers that were issued during the previous year in the annual Trafficking in Persons Report. Yemen’s 2020 and 2021 waiver justifications noted the government’s efforts to prevent the child soldiers and maintained that “[i]t is in the U.S. national interest to support efforts to bring about a negotiated political settlement led by the United Nations Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen,” and that “[t]his waiver will allow assistance that directly contributes to efforts to advance the UN-led political process.” The justifications also stated that “a critical element of ending the conflict in Yemen is our counterterrorism campaign and efforts to counter Iranian arms smuggling to the Houthis,” and that “[b]uilding the capacity of the Republic of Yemen Government to meet these goals furthers important U.S. government security interests to include enhancing homeland security, while simultaneously moving toward the goal of ending the war in Yemen.”9Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Annual Report on the Use of Child Soldiers,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2021, pp. 634, https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/TIPR-GPA-upload-07222021.pdf (https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-trafficking-in-persons-report/).; Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Annual Report on the Use of Child Soldiers,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2022, pp. 620, https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/20221020-2022-TIP-Report.pdf (https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-trafficking-in-persons-report/). Similar language was included in the 2022 and 2023 waiver justifications for Yemen.10Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Annual Report on the Use of Child Soldiers,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2023, https://www.state.gov/reports/2023-trafficking-in-persons-report/.; Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Annual Report to Congress on the Use of Child Soldiers under Section 405(c) of the Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2024, https://www.state.gov/reports/2024-trafficking-in-persons-report/. Yemen’s 2024 waiver justification maintained waivers “will allow for assistance to improve the YAF’s capacity to conduct effective, sustained counterterrorism operations, ensuring freedom of navigation through the Bab Al-Mandeb Strait, and securing the space for restoring effective governance institutions.”11Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Annual Report to Congress on the Use of Child Soldiers under Section 405(c) of the Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2025, https://www.state.gov/reports/2025-trafficking-in-persons-report/.
For more information, see the U.S. State Department’s 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report and 2024 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. More information on the situation in Yemen can also be found in the UN Secretary-General’s 2025 Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict and country-specific reports on Yemen.
Explore the Data
Country- and program-level data on the number and type of national interest waivers granted, as well as the amount of arms sales and military assistance waived.
