Local Editor
In a statement released Tuesday, Mwatana Organization for Human Rights stated that establishing an independent international mechanism to inquire into human rights violations perpetrated by all parties to the conflict in Yemen has become an urgent exigency. The Organization urged the United Nations Human Rights Council (UN HRC) to take tangible strides to put an end to the policy of impunity, a call that has been repeatedly made by the High Commissioner including in his opening statement to the UN HRC 36th session last Monday on September 11, 2017.
Mwatana also released a video entitled “Abandoned Yemen” which sheds light on the violations committed by parties to the conflict since last September.
Radhya Al-Mutawakel, the Chairperson of Mwatana, said: "Violations of International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law continue, and civilians continue to pay the price because of the parties’ recklessness in Yemen. The Human Rights Council must act to protect civilians after two years of failing to do so. The Council’s reputation is at stake."
Violations perpetrated by the parties to the conflict in Yemen since September 2016
Mwatana continued to document human rights violations through field investigative research methodology. During the period from September 2016 to August 2017, Mwatana team conducted more than 513 interviews with victims, families of victims, eyewitnesses and medical and humanitarian personnel to document the incidents of International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law violations perpetrated by all parties to the conflict in Yemen.
Attacks by the Saudi-led Arab Coalition Forces:
The Saudi-led Arab Coalition Forces continued in waging their attacks on civilians and civilian objects. Mwatana documented at least 85 attacks by the coalition during the period September 2016 – August 2017 that killed at least 333 civilians and injured at least 331 others, most of them are women and children.
the second anniversary of the outset of the coalition military operations in Yemen, Mwatana issued a statement in last March calling on the countries supporting the Saudi-led Arab Coalition, specifically the United States of America (US) and United Kingdom and Great Britain (UK), to enforce an arms embargo to Saudi Arabia as they could be probably used against civilians and civilian objects.
Instead, Mwatana has recommended the countries supporting the coalition to provide assistance to civilian victims by lobbying for an independent international mechanism to inquire into violations perpetrated by the coalition.
The statement also referred to the use of UK, US and Italian-made weapons in a number of these attacks.
Indiscriminate Shelling and Attacks:
Mwatana documented 62 incidents of indiscriminate attacks during the period September 2016 - July 2017; majority of which took place in Taiz, and some occurred in Aljawf and Mareb. At least, 76 civilians were killed and 150 others were injured in these incidents.
Use of Landmines:
The number of civilian victims killed and injured by landmine explosions continues to increase.
Mwatana documented at least 21 incidents of landmine explosions planted in five Yemeni governorates: Taiz, Aljawf, Al-Bayda, Mareb and Amran. These incidents took place for the period September 2016 through July 2017, killing seven civilians and injuring 50 civilians at least.
Field Executions:
Chapter II of the "Chapters from Hell" report documented nine incidents of field executions carried out by forces loyal to President Hadi in the governorate of Taiz. During the period September 2016 through July 2017, Mwatana documented six incidents in Taiz.
The forces loyal to Hadi carry out extra-judicial executions against their opponents who are believed to be affiliates of the Houthis and Saleh forces, or are believed to be sympathetic with or work in favor of Houthis.
Incidents of Arbitrary Detention, Enforced Disappearance and Torture:
Mwatana documented at least 30 incidents of arbitrary detention, 8 incidents of enforced disappearance and one incident of torture to death took place during the period between September 2016 through July 2017.
Mwatana has also documented at least 10 incidents of arbitrary detention, 2 incidents of enforced disappearance and 4 incidents of torture committed by the forces loyal to the government of President Hadi during the period September 2016 through July 2017.
Mwatana has also verified of 26 cases of torture in which at least one detainee has died in detention camps and centers run by the security belt forces, and forces affiliate to security directorate in the governorate of Aden, and the Hadrami elite forces; in areas under the control of President Hadi government.
Humanitarian Situation due to the Conflict in Yemen
Mwatana has verified dozens of incidents of preventing the access of humanitarian assistance in addition to the blockades imposed on certain cities, depriving enormous numbers of civilians in need of receiving essential humanitarian assistance and undermining their ability to manage their life affairs at a minimum.
The "Globally Worst" is the title and the benchmark reflecting the descriptions and details of the humanitarian crisis in Yemen after more than two years of violent conflict which pushed conditions of deterioration and instability that emerged before the war to the highest levels of deterioration and collapse and ending with the largest humanitarian crisis currently experienced by the country.
The war has created appropriate conditions for a series of acute crises that are interrelated, intertwined in their complexity and very rapidly exacerbated. The collapse is no longer an imminent threat but a reality. Displacement is no longer a potential nightmare but a truth suffered by around 2 million displaced people, according to UNHCR. Famine has turned from a specter feared by the population and warned by humanitarian organizations to a daily distress currently affecting 17 million Yemeni people suffering from food insecurity and do not know where the next meal will come from, according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Yemen.
The health system suffers from a major collapse that led to the interruption of more than 60% of health facilities, particularly as with the unpaid salaries of the civil servants in Yemen since ten month. The outbreak of cholera in the country caused the death of 2,000 people; and nearly 2 million children have acute malnutrition, making them more vulnerable to diseases and epidemics, particularly cholera for the time being.
Civilians in remote and most affected areas face difficulty in accessing feeding and treatment centers because they are unable to afford transportation to these facilities, particularly those run by international humanitarian and relief organizations within cities.
Of the photographs of war that Mwatana documented, there are families who lost their homes and livelihoods, vital roads, bridges and facilities, hospitals and health centers were bombed. The destruction also affected industrial and educational facilities, water schemes, and shops.
Obstacles to the Work of Civil Society Organizations, Particularly Human Rights Organizations
Since September 2014, the space available for civilian action has shrunk considerably. As the armed conflict escalated with the aggression of the Saudi-led Arab Coalition in March 2015, the complexities and actions against both local and international civil society organizations have increased.
Mwatana faces many challenges while working in the field. The most notable challenges is the instability of security situation or the continued military operations in a number of areas experiencing incidents of human rights violations and the inability to document them properly.
In addition, continuing waves of displacement due to armed conflict are a major impediment to obtaining testimonies of witnesses or victims who were exposed to violations in certain incidents. In addition, tampering with sites that are exposed to attacks and tampering with the remnants of the weapons used hinders the investigation and inquiry process in knowing the type of weapon used in the attack, for example, and in identifying its nature and which party owns such weapon.
More importantly, Mwatana field team has been exposed to the risk of smearing campaigns and also the risk of threats, investigation, interrogation and arbitrary detention.
Performance of the National Commission to Investigate Allegations of Human Rights Violations
The National Commission to Investigate Allegations of Human Rights Violations, formed by the Hadi regime, could not absolutely be considered as an entity having capacity to provide independent and substantive reports on the human rights situation in Yemen as it was formed by a party to the current conflict in Yemen.
The manner in which the National Commission is formed undermines its credibility and, ultimately, its ability to investigate violations and hold those involved in the violations accountable.
The National Commission has investigators and commissioners who lack independency from the political scene, and therefore, the National Commission is vulnerable to be influenced by those involved in violations or parties with a strong interest in concealing infringements and violations, as is the case with the Saudi-led Arab Coalition. Under the presidential decree and the reporting mechanism directly to the President, the National Commission has no independency at all.
Instead, and with the formation of an international investigative commission, there will be an outsized level of impartiality and independency off the internal political factors that make the independency of the National Commission an impossible matter.
Moreover, one of the most important challenges facing the National Commission is the lack of methodology, technical capacity and ways to implement the work on the ground. The situation on the ground requires advanced and independent international expertise to conduct thorough investigations.
The National Commission is not recognized by the Houthis and Saleh forces, and as such, the National Commission cannot obligate these parties to hand over documents to the Commission for review. Indeed, the Houthis and Saleh forces did not respond to the memorandums sent by the Commission.
Although the National Commission has stated that it will protect the witnesses and has refrained from disclosing their identities in the report, but the ability of its investigators to collect data from victims of violations committed by the Hadi regime or Houthis- Saleh forces has been severely affected as they are affiliated with the government (a party to the conflict), and the investigators are not seen as neutral and independent. Victims may be afraid to speak to National Commission investigators for fearing that the violations they were exposed to will not be treated seriously or for fearing that facts will be distorted.
Hadi's announcement that he has referred the allegations of violations of human rights and humanitarian law found in the National Commission's reports to the attorney general, as reported by Saba news agency the version that is run by Hadi regime, appears as an apparent attempt to undermine the establishment of an independent international investigation in Yemen.
Such a move disregards the victims, the concept of accountability, and the alarming situation in Yemen. While a referral of the cases of violations documented in the reports of the National Commission demonstrates willingness to pursue accountability, both the National Commission itself and their reports are fundamentally flawed. Additionally, Yemeni laws lack the provisions to provide the proper avenue through which many of these crimes can be charged, making accountability for some of the most egregious crimes more difficult. Moreover, Yemeni legal institutions have demonstrated an acute inability to investigate routine criminal cases, let alone investigate serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.
Parties to the conflict have a duty to investigate violations against International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law. However, these investigations should not be considered as sufficient. An international impartial investigations mechanism is needed to work independently and bring accountability to violators.
Radhya Al-Mutawakel said: "The victims are still waiting for serious strides be taken by the Human Rights Council for almost two years. The Council must approve the establishment of an independent international mechanism to inquire into violations perpetrated by all parties to the conflict in Yemen, and send a clear message to victims and their families that justice and accountability can be achieved in Yemen."
Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team
