UN Investigators: Yemen War Crimes Probe Must Continue

Local Editor

War crimes investigators called Wednesday for the UN's top rights body to let them continue probing the "extremely alarming" situation in Yemen, amid resistance from the Saudi-led Arab coalition.

The investigators, appointed by the UN Human Rights Council a year ago, presented a report to the body that concluded all sides in Yemen's conflict may have committed "war crimes."

The resolution that first set up the inquiry last year after a long diplomatic fight gave investigators a year to conduct their probe.

But Kamel Jendoubi, who heads the Group of Independent Eminent International and Regional Experts, insisted that "in light of the gravity of the situation and the limited time given to the mandate, additional investigations are needed."

"The situation in Yemen continues to be extremely alarming," he told the council.

"We call upon you to keep the situation in Yemen at the top of the priorities of the council," he said, urging diplomats to "unanimously" adopt a resolution led by a group of European countries and Canada calling for a one-year extension.

This, he said, was necessary "to ensure that truth is revealed and accountability is attained."

But while a long line of diplomats voiced support Wednesday for prolonging the probe, it remains unclear if the council will give the investigators a green light to continue when it votes on the resolution at the end of this week.

A competing text on the table, led by Tunisia on behalf of the group of Arab states, makes no mention of extending the probe but calls for Yemen's often-criticized National Commission of Inquiry to continue studying the conflict.

Observers say the Saudi-led coalition that intervened in the conflict in March 2015 is actively working to quash the international probe.

Investigators concluded in their report that "coalition airstrikes have caused most of the documented civilian casualties."

Yemen's conflict has left nearly 10,000 people dead since March 2015.

It has sparked the world's worst humanitarian crisis, with three quarters of the population – or 22 million people – in need of humanitarian aid, according to UN figures.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team