More than 130 civil society organizations called on the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva to continue to support the National Commission in investigating allegations of human rights violations, to carry out its tasks of investigating violations in Yemen.
In a statement released by her, she said: “Civil society organizations, as they monitor and closely monitor the escalation of human rights violations in Yemen, especially those affecting the rights to life, physical integrity, liberty and dignity and the prohibition of torture, believe that it is essential to support national human rights mechanisms, including the documentation, monitoring and early, immediate and comprehensive investigation of all serious violations of international human rights law and serious violations of international humanitarian law, in order to preserve the rights of victims and support the redress and redress process.
The statement stated that “Violations continue in light of the ongoing conflict as the number of deaths and injuries from explosive weapon violations has increased, as well as increased levels of sexual and gender-based violence, child recruitment, arbitrary arrest, enforced disappearances and torture increased the level of repression of freedoms and restrictions on the activities of civil society”.
The organizations’ statement confirms that they, as a civil society, have demanded since 2011 the establishment of an independent national committee to investigate allegations of human rights violations, and the state responded by creating it in 2012 and, in fact, in 2015. beginning of 2016 and continues to this day.
The statement indicated that the committee was able to document and investigate 23,400 cases of violations committed by various parties, with more than 40,000 casualties of both sexes across Yemen. Through its field legal teams of more than (60) people, including delegated members, assistant investigators and field investigators, following legal investigation mechanisms in accordance with international human rights standards. It has become a national mechanism that plays an important role in the promotion and protection of human rights in Yemen, increasing the scope for accountability and the establishment of redress and compensation mechanisms.
Civil society organizations indicated that they have been following the serious challenges faced by the National Committee, such as the lack of resources, the delay in providing technical assistance and the lack of response from the parties to the conflict, noting that they are proud to have a national team that works dedicatedly in difficult, harsh and dangerous environments to document violations.
The statement added: “Based on our full confidence in the importance of the role played by this mechanism and its ability to access victims and information, and make clear changes in revealing the truth and facilitating redress for victims, which is the goal pursued. Human Rights Council and all national, regional and international protection mechanisms, we invite the members of the Human Rights Council to take into account the following recommendations:
1- The importance of continuing to provide effective and prompt technical and technical support to the National Committee and increasing its approved allocations, continuing to professionally monitor and investigate human rights violations, support and improve its work, and provide it with expertise. specializes in explosive weapons, gender, satellite image analysis and other disciplines that the Committee needs and pays to support its continuity in carrying out its tasks.
2- Reparation to victims and improvement of women’s access to justice, in particular by supporting the independence and reform of the judiciary, training and development of judges in accordance with international standards in the field of human rights violations and the establishment of a security unit for the judiciary called the judicial police associated with judges and executing orders and rulings issued by the judiciary, in addition to supporting the revitalization of the role of the judicial control and inspection body and the national anti-corruption body.
3- Support redress and compensation mechanisms, including the establishment of a special fund for victims and survivors of sexual and gender-based violence.
4- Emphasizing the importance of strengthening the partnership between the National Committee and civil society organizations, including women’s organizations.
To date, the statement has been signed by more than 130 civil society organizations working on freedoms and human rights in Yemen.