A/HRC/42/CRP.1 conflict has impacted further the access to education of children with disabilities. 1159 While there is no clear data on how many children with different disabilities are in and out of school in Yemen, the Group of Experts was informed that, as a result of the interruption of social welfare benefits,1160 challenges faced by children with disabilities to enjoy their right to education have been exacerbated. 1161 7. Concluding observations on the impact of the conflict on children 729. The Group of Experts had access to testimonies of child survivors that contained evidence of psychological distress. These children had been injured or had immediate relatives who were killed and injured; were recruited into the armed forces or armed groups themselves; were separated from their families; and/or were forced to care for their siblings because their family members were separated or had died. 730. Additionally, children affected by the conflict have lost important sources of social support for their well-being, particularly schools. Children in Yemen have been forced, at a young age to contribute to the families’ income, including as child soldiers, leading to significant changes in children’s role within the family and the community. These issues need to be addressed to prevent children being drawn into ongoing cycles of violence. 731. Parties to the conflict have violated on a vast scale the protection to which children are entitled under both international human rights law and international humanitarian law. Only a serious commitment to respect international law followed by concrete actions can restore a climate in which children in Yemen can grow up without having their already dire fate exacerbated by the ongoing armed conflict. IX. Thematic issues A. 1. Violations related to the humanitarian situation Introduction on the current humanitarian crisis 732. In March 2019, the World Food Programme (WFP) declared Yemen “the world’s largest food crisis.”1162 According to the Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), nearly one quarter of the entire population was malnourished at the beginning of 2019, many acutely so, with 230 districts (out of 333) at risk of famine. 1163 In June 2019, pockets of famine-like conditions in dozens of places across the Yemen were confirmed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator.1164 An estimated 24.1 million people were in need of assistance to survive at the beginning of 2019,1165 amounting to almost 80 per cent of the population. Of the 24.1 million in need of protection or humanitarian assistance, 18.2 million were women and children.1166 According to humanitarian service providers, as of December 2018, there were 3.2 million people who required treatment for acute malnutrition, including more than two million children under the age of five and 1.14 1159 Confidential Sources on File. Confidential Sources on File. 1161 United Nations Security Council Resolution, 20 June 2019, S/RES/2475; see also Article 11 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; A/HRC/31/30, para 16 and 35; and “Addressing the vulnerability and exclusion of persons with disabilities: the situation of women and girls, children’s right to education, disasters and humanitarian crises” (CRPD/CSP/2015/4). 1162 World Food Programme, “Yemen: This Is the World’s Largest Food Crisis,” (Mar. 29, 2019), available at: https://unwfp.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Cascade/index.html?appid=a8e9e0ef4b854f3f921b08d296830e2 8. 1163 https://m.reliefweb.int/report/3000634. 1164https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/190617_Yemen_USG%20SECCO%20state ment-Final-1.pdf. 1165 OCHA, Humanitarian Response Plan, 2019 (https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/20190402_HRP_snapshot_V5.pdf) 1166 Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Humanitarian Needs Overview 2019. 1160 175