The UN Human Rights Council has constituted a group of eminent experts to examine alleged human rights violations committed during the regional conflict in Yemen.
European countries had initially called for a UN inquiry commission, like the ones set up in Syria or North Korea. In their bid to get the support of Arab countries, EU countries agreed to a less clearly defined “Group of Eminent International and Regional Experts.’’ Human Rights Council members such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are part of the military coalition supporting Yemen’s government with airstrikes that had killed thousands of civilians in their fight against Houthi rebels.
A report issued by the UN’s Human Rights Office in September, indicated that more than 5,100 civilians had been killed and more than 8,700 injured since the UN started monitoring casualties in March 2015.
The Saudi-led coalition supporting Hadi was responsible for 60 per cent of these deaths through airstrikes, while the Houthis shelled civilians and recruited more than 1,100 child soldiers, the report said.
Yemen had since 2014 been ravaged by the war between the government, supported by regional power Saudi Arabia, and the Houthi rebels, backed by Saudi Arabia’s rival Iran.