Local Editor
A group of non-governmental organizations sent a joint letter to the Permanent Representatives of Member and Observer States of the United Nations Human Rights Council urging for the creation of an independent international investigation into violations and abuses of international human rights law and international humanitarian law in Yemen since the start of the current conflict.
The group which is made up of 57 organizations including Human Rights Watch (HRW), Amnesty International, Pen International and 13 other Yemeni organizations endorsed the letter.
The NGOs reiterated that “this is a call that has been made since 2015 by national, regional, and international civil society organizations, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the Security Council Panel of Experts on Yemen.”
The letter added that “the number of abuses, and the need for credible international investigations, has only increased since 2015.”
The group also called on the “Human Rights Council to establish, during its thirty-sixth session, an independent international inquiry to investigate alleged violations and abuses of international human rights law and violations of international humanitarian law committed by all parties to the conflict in Yemen. The inquiry should be given the mandate to establish the facts and circumstances, and to collect and preserve evidence of, and clarify responsibility for, alleged violations and abuses of international human rights law and violations of international humanitarian law, with a view to ending impunity and providing accountability.”
For their part, the organizations concluded their letter by urging the Permanent Representatives of Member and Observer States of the United Nations Human Rights Council to support the creation of such an inquiry by the Council during upcoming session,” adding that “the victims of abuses in Yemen cannot afford to wait longer for credible investigations into ongoing grave violations and abuses to be undertaken.”
Source: Yemenwatch.net, Edited by Website Team
