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Mwatana for Human Rights won the Aachen Peace Prize 2022 along with the lawyer Holger Rothbauer, who is well-known for prosecuting cases against German arms deals in various parts of the world..
September 7, 2022Mwatana for Human Rights won the Aachen Peace Prize 2022 along with the lawyer Holger Rothbauer, who is well-known for prosecuting cases against German arms deals in various parts of the world.More than 300 individuals and more than 50 distinct political, social, and religious groups in Germany initiated the prize. Osamah Alfakih, Mwatana’s advocacy director, and Noria Al-Hossini, Mwatana’s media and communication director, attended the event as representatives of Mwatana.In the morning of September 1, a press conference was held an a numerous German radio and television media outlets were present. In the same evening, the celebration was attended by the Mayor of the German city of Aachen and lasted for an hour and a half.In addition, the advocacy director, Osamah Alfakih, and the media and communication director, Noria Al-Hossini, conducted a number of advocacy meetings in the German capital Berlin with the support of Misereor, Mwatana’s partner.Meetings were held with government officials in the Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development and with two parliamentary committees: the Economic and Development Committee and the Defense Committee.Several issues were discussed during these meetings, most notably the need to establish an international criminal mechanism to document abuses, publicly report on the human rights situation, collect and preserve evidence, and build files for future prosecution, especially in light of the Human Rights Council's failure to renew the mandate of the Group of Eminent Experts last year due to Saudi-UAE pressure.The meetings also discussed the need for Germany and European countries to stand against the US proposal to form a hybrid international mechanism with representatives from the Presidential Leadership Council.They also discussed Yemen’s human rights status in general, the situation during the truce period, and the necessity to open routes between Yemeni areas, particularly Taiz.The meetings emphasized the importance of addressing the economic situation and expediting the payment of public sector employee salaries, as well as the fact that states and companies bear legal responsibility for arms deals that may be used against civilians and civilian objects, as is the case in Yemen.
