Parties on both side in Yemen’s ongoing civil war have perpetrated human rights violations and possibly war crimes, according to UN appointed human rights investigators.
Speaking on Tuesday, Charles Garraway, a member of the International and Regional Group of Eminent Experts in Yemen, said they had found “reasonable grounds” to believe the forces of both Yemen’s Government and those backing it – including the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, and Houthi opposition forces are responsible for human rights violations.
The group’s findings relate to the period between September, 2014, and June, 2018, and cover the period from March, 2015, when the conflict – the roots of which date back to 2011 – escalated when an international coalition led by Saudi Arabia intervened militarily at the request of Yemen’s President.
In a 41 page report, the group note that coalition air strikes have caused the most direct civilian casualties, hitting residential areas, markets, funerals, weddings, detention facilities, boats and even medical facilities.
Kamel Jendoubi, chairperson of the group, said in a statement that there was “little evidence of any attempt by parties to the conflict to minimize civilian casualties”.
“I call on them to prioritise human dignity in this forgotten conflict,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.
He also urged all parties to “take the necessary measures to remove disproportionate restrictions on the safe and expeditious entry into Yemen of humanitarian supplies and other goods indispensable to the civilian population, and the movement of persons including through Sana’a International Airport in compliance with international humanitarian law.”
UN data shows that between March, 2015, and 23rd August this year, 6,660 civilians were killed and more than 10,000 injured as a result of the conflict but it these figures are believed to be conservative.
The Group of Eminent Experts on Yemen was created by the UN Human Rights Council in September last year.
