(Sunday 09 October 2016) – Members of the MENA Rights Defenders Group, express utter shock and outrage and deplore the shameful loss of civilian lives and injuries caused by the airstrikes attacks of Saturday 08 October 2016 that targeted the community hall of Al-Sala Alkubra in Sana’a, where thousands of mourners were taking part in a funeral ceremony. The United Nations says initial reports from heath officials in Yemen’s capital indicate that over 140 people were killed and more than 525 wounded in these attacks.
While we unequivocally condemn the horrific attack that took place in Sana’a yesterday, we reiterate our grave concern with regards to the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the country as well as to the appalling conditions endured by the civilian population in the various provinces of the country, in addition to the carelessness by which all parties to the conflict treat the war’s destructive and disastrous humanitarian impacts.
We call on the UN Human Rights Council to re-introduce a new resolution to form an independent international inquiry commission, unbiased by any of the parties involved in the conflict, to investigate thoroughly the allegations of violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law committed by all parties to the conflict since September 2014. This investigation should include:
- The actions of the Saudi led Arab coalition forces and their allies, the Popular Resistance Militia, since the start of air bombing.
- The consequences of the air and sea blockade imposed by the coalition;
- The actions of Ansar Allah militia and former president Ali Abdullah Saleh forces in their march in and attacks against different Yemeni cities.
- The allegations of child recruitment and forced participation in armed
We also call on Arab governments represented in the UN Human Rights Council to refrain from blocking the Council’s attempts to urgently adopt this international mechanism to investigate human rights violations committed in Yemen by all parties to the conflict. Such mechanism should be conducted in a manner that documents the facts, collect and preserve the information relating to these violations, and ascertain the identity of those responsible for committing them in order to ensure bringing them to justice in international fair trials.
MENA Rights Defenders is a group of human rights defenders in the Middle East and North Africa. Its members firmly believe in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International human rights conventions, and seek through this framework to disseminate, promote and defend the values, principles and standards of human rights in the Middle East and North Africa and all countries of the world.
Related:
Human Rights Defenders in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Call for a Fact-Finding Mission on Yemen – September 14, 2015
https://rightscable.com/2015/09/14/human-rights-defenders-in-the-middle-east-and-north-africa-mena-call-for-a-fact-finding-mission-on-yemen/
For Further Information Contact:
- Elham Manea, e-mail: manea@pw.uzh.ch
- Fadi Al-Qadi, e-mail: fadi@rightscable.com
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