Dear President,
We thank the High Commissioner for his report on technical assistance in Yemen. Unfortunately, the report says nothing about some of the worst human rights violations in Yemen over the past year, such as:
- The Houthis’ arbitrary arrest and disappearance of dozens of UN and civil society staff, as well as their raiding of the OHCHR office in Saana;
- Increasing arbitrary arrests of human rights defenders, journalists, and others by all authorities across the country;
- The seizure of a women’s shelter in the South of the country and increasing restrictions on women’s freedom of movement by all authorities across Yemen;
- An increase in the Houthis’ recruitment of child soldiers;
- The obstruction of humanitarian aid and information, which has exacerbated the deadly cholera outbreak.
These violations are not mentioned in the OHCHR report because the current resolution does not give the OHCHR a mandate to monitor and report on the situation. Whilst technical assistance to the National Commission of Inquiry is welcome, a much more robust response is required.
Civil society organizations, including Yemeni NGOs, continue to call for the Council to establish an investigation and accountability mechanism as a step towards ending impunity for the years of rights violations. The recent escalation in abuses is linked to that lack of accountability.
As a new front to the conflict has begun over the last year, it is imperative that warring parties are held to account for past violations so that these cycles of civilian harm do not continue to repeat. The HRC must listen to, and not abandon, the Yemeni people.
