Today, the ICJ called on the UN Human Rights Council to renew the mandate of the Group of Eminent Experts on Yemen for a multi-year term, to establish an independent international mechanism on criminal accountability and to urge the Security Council to refer the situation of Yemen to the ICC.
The ICJ was not able to read the statement during the interactive dialogue, due to the limited time provided for NGO statements.
The statement reads as follows:
“Madam President,
The ICJ welcomes the publication of the Group of Eminent Experts on Yemen’s latest report and invites this Council to extend its mandate on a multi-year or ongoing basis to ensure the continuity and effectiveness of its crucial work, which should be supported by adequate resources.
Over four years, the Group of Eminent Experts has documented patterns of: murders; enforced disappearances; torture; sexual violence; disproportionate and indiscriminate attacks; recruitment and use in hostilities of children; impeding humanitarian operations; and other human rights abuses amounting to war crimes by all warring parties, resulting in an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, also due to the use of starvation as a method of warfare.
Yet, despite the Group of Eminent Experts attesting to seven years of impunity for these serious crimes under international law, its recommendations to ensure accountability have remained unimplemented. This Council should:
– urge the Security Council to refer the situation to the ICC; and
– establish an international investigative mechanism focused on criminal accountability, with adequate resources, to complement the work of the Group.
The ICJ calls upon Member States to abide by their obligation under the Geneva Conventions and the Arms Trade Treaty to refrain from supplying arms, directly or indirectly, to the parties to the conflict in Yemen.
Thank you.”
Contact:
Massimo Frigo, ICJ UN Representative, e: massimo.frigo(a)icj.org, t: +41797499949
