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Mwatana has recommended the countries supporting the Saudi-led Arab Coalition to provide assistance to civilian victims. " The victims are still waiting for serious strides be taken by the Human Rights Council for almost two years".
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In a statement released today, Mwatana Organization for Human Rights stated that establishing an independent international mechanism to inquire into human rights violations perpetrated by all parties to the conflict in Yemen has become an urgent exigency. In its statement, the Organization called on the United Nations Human Rights Council (UN HRC) to take tangible strides to put an end the policy of impunity, a call that has been repeatedly made by the High Commissioner including in his opening statement to the UN HRC 36th session last Monday on September 11, 2017.
Mwatana also released a video today entitled “Abandoned Yemen” which sheds light on patterns of violations committed by parties to the conflict since last September.
Since Ansar Allah armed group (Houthis) took control of the capital Sana’a on September 21, 2014, Yemen has entered a new phase of armed conflicts that escalated in a rapid pace on March 26, 2015, when Saudi Arabia led an Arab Coalition of nine countries and launched a military campaign against Houthis and Saleh forces, to support the government of President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
Radhya Al-Mutawakel, the Chairperson of Mwatana, said: “Violations of International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law continue, and civilians continue to pay the price because of the parties’ recklessness in Yemen. The Human Rights Council must act to protect civilians after two years of failing to do so. The Council’s reputation is at stake.”
Violations perpetrated by the parties to the conflict in Yemen since September 2016
Mwatana continued to document human rights violations through field investigative research methodology. During the period from September 2016 to August 2017, Mwatana team conducted more than 513 interviews with victims, families of victims, eyewitnesses and medical and humanitarian personnel to document the incidents of International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law violations perpetrated by all parties to the conflict in Yemen.
Attacks by the Saudi-led Arab Coalition Forces:
The Saudi-led Arab Coalition Forces continued in waging their attacks on civilians and civilian objects. Mwatana documented at least 85 attacks by the coalition during the period September 2016 – August 2017 that killed at least 333 civilians and injured at least 331 others, most of them are women and children.
On the second anniversary of the outset of the coalition military operations in Yemen, Mwatana issued a statement in last March calling on the countries supporting the Saudi-led Arab Coalition, specifically the United States of America (US) and United Kingdom and Great Britain (UK), to enforce an arms embargo to Saudi Arabia as they could be probably used against civilians and civilian objects.
Instead, Mwatana has recommended the countries supporting the coalition to provide assistance to civilian victims by lobbying for an independent international mechanism to inquire into violations perpetrated by the coalition.
The statement also referred to the use of UK, US and Italian-made weapons in a number of these attacks.
On Saturday, November 26, 2016, at around 5:40 pm, the Saudi-led Arab Coalition bombed the house of Fahmi Abdulhamid Saif in the village of Al-Qatai, the district of Al-Marawea, the governorate of Hodeidah. The attack resulted in the killing of 10 civilians, including 6 children, and the injury of 4 others, including two children.
Abdulkarim Abdulhamid Haza’a Sharaf (55 years old), the father of a number of victims, who was grazing his sheep at the time of the incident, said: “My family was visiting Fahmi’s house, and Fahmi’s family was always visiting our house too. At 5:40 pm, when I was grazing my sheep 50 meters from the house, I heard the sizzling of a warplane but I did not expect Fahmi’s house to be bombed, and when the bomb hit the house, I thought that the warplane itself hit the house and the place was filled with dust. I stood in front of Fahmi’s house and saw all the bodies are charred. I could not recognize the Uhood Khalid (30 years old) the wife of my son Ra’afat, and her son Mohammed Ra’afat (one year and a half old) and Ghala Mohammed (18 years old), the daughter of my brother and the wife of my son Raheeb, who were only married two months ago. I saw my grandson Karam Ra’afat (6 years old) among the rubble with his left leg injured and pulled him to the nearby of the house. I was able only to recognize the body of my daughter Rahab (18 years old). I went to the house to find out who is still alive and found the windows of the house had been removed out because of the airstrike. I asked my wife, Khayriah, who is still in the house; she said that all of them are in Fahmi’s house. I knew then that all of them were killed”.
Sharaf added: “It was not possible to remove the rubble but only at 9:00 pm because of the collapse of a communications tower over the house, which was about a meter away. Five persons of my family were killed, and my grandson (Karam), my wife and my two sons, Raafat and Raheeb, who were working in the workshop, and I survived the incident”.
Fahmi Abdulhamid Saif (35 years old), the owner of the house and father of Mohammed (9 years old), Malekat (one year and a half old) and Malek (3 years old), who were killed in the incident, said: “I was in the workshop approximately 200 meters away from the house, and the warplanes hovering has been intense since the morning. I heard the explosion and went out of my workshop to see my house destroyed and the communication tower collapsed over it. The people prevented me from reaching the house and I did not see any of the bodies. I recognized that I had lost all the members of my family except my son Ammar (8 years old), who had his left leg amputated the same day. My wife, Asma Abdulqadir (30 years old), together with three sons, were killed”.
Saif added: “The media reported that they targeted Houthis commanders in my house. The military commanders who were in my house are Malekat and Malek!”
On Monday, February 20, 2017, at around 13:00 noon, coalition warplanes bombed a house in the village of Al-Mashreqiya Al-Sheab, the district of Haradh, the governorate of Hajah. The attack resulted in the killing of a man and a woman, and the injury of five civilians, including two little girls.
Ali Hussein Ajar (35 years old), one of the victims’ relatives and an eyewitness, said: “Around 12:30 pm, I went to buy vegetables from a market about 5 km from the village. About half an hour later, I heard a massive explosion and saw smoke rising. Some people told me that it was the house of my uncle, Ali Ahmad Ajar, (60 years old). I was shocked and I kept wondering why it was targeted. I went to my uncle’s house and found it demolished, while the villagers were gathering. I saw my brothers and my cousins thrown on the ground: My cousin Ahmad Ali Ahmad Deeb ‘Ajar, (18 years old) with half of his head is missing, and his sister Aisha (21 years) with her abdomen ripped and her body charred, my brother Mohammed (18 years old) injured with shrapnel in his back, my sister Al-Anoud (13 years old) injured with shrapnel in her left leg, my sister Hajer (7 years old), injured with shrapnel in her head, my sister Khadija (20 years old) had part of her face burned, and My sister Fatem (27 years) injured with shrapnel and her left hand broken. My father, my uncle, and I helped moving the injured to Al-Hadhen center in Al-Sheab in the district of Haradh where first aid was provided to them, and then they were referred to Abs Hospital run by MSF”.
As well, civilians in the governorate of Taiz were not spared by the attacks of the Saudi-led Arab Coalition Forces in addition to their suffering from the armed ground conflict between Ansar Allah (Houthis) forces and the forces loyal to the former President Saleh, on one hand, and the popular resistance groups and forces loyal to President Hadi, on the other hand.
On Tuesday, July 18, 2017, at around 8:00 am, the Saudi-led Arab Coalition Forces bombed a IDPs camp in the district of Mawza’a used by IDPs from villages of the district of Mukha, the governorate of Taiz. The IDPs arrived in the area about five months before the date of the incident due to armed clashes near Khalid Military Camp in the governorate of Taiz.
The attack resulted in the killing of at least 15 civilians, including 11 children under the age of 15 from two families and the injury of one woman. About an hour after the incident, coalition warplanes bombed a shop situated at the main street, about 15 km away from the IDPs camp, and at least one man was injured.
On Monday, July 24, 2017, at around 9:30 am, the Arab Coalition warplanes bombed a car carrying 11 civilians on the road of Al-Hadina in the village of Al-Kadihah in the district of Mukha, the governorate of Taiz. A child was killed and others injured in this incident. Before three months, these civilians were displaced from Al-Hamli area to the village of Al-Kadihah after the armed clashes escalated, and they decided to displace again from the Al-Kadihah village for the same reason.
Indiscriminate Shelling and Attacks:
Civilians continue to be victims of indiscriminate shelling and attacks between Ansar Allah (Houthis) forces and the forces loyal to the former President, Saleh, on one hand and the popular resistance groups and forces loyal to President Hadi on the other hand, particularly in Taiz.
Mwatana documented 62 incidents of indiscriminate attacks during the period September 2016 – July 2017; majority of which took place in Taiz, and some occurred in Aljawf and Mareb. At least, 76 civilians were killed and 150 others were injured in these incidents. Ansar Allah armed group (Houthis) and forces loyal to the former President Saleh are responsible for most of the bloody attacks.
In November 2016, Mwatana issued “Chapters from Hell” report which addressed violations of international humanitarian law in the armed ground conflict in Taiz. Chapter I focused on 32 incidents of indiscriminate attacks on residential neighborhoods in the city.
On Monday, January 16, 2017, at around 8:00 pm, a projectile hit the house of Shubat Abdulhafeez Abdulwali Al-Shamiri, which is located in Al-Muwaijer village, the district of Makbanah, the governorate of Taiz. The attack resulted in the killing of five civilians, including two children, and the injury of two other children. According to the interviews conducted by Mwatana, the eyewitnesses believe that the source of the projectile is the western side of Hais and Al-Khokha areas of the governorate of Hodeidah, controlled by Ansar Allah (Houthis) and the forces loyal to the former President, Saleh.
The attack resulted in the killing of Abdulhafeez Al-Shamiri (35 years old), his wife Ashgan Mohammed Ghaleb Aqlan (30 years old), his son Mohammed (3 years old) his daughter Abrar (2 years old), and Sahar Abdo Ali Dahwa (34 years old), the wife of the elder brother of Shubat (Hafez). Children of Hafez Abdulhalim, namely Abdulhalim (9 years old) and Ghosoun (4 years old) were injured.
Ali Mahfouz Al-Shamiri (42 years old) an eyewitness, said: “I was on the roof of my house waiting for dinner. I live at the bottom of the mountain that was exposed to the attack, and my house is distant from the house that was attacked about one kilometer or less. I saw an object that is too reddish passing from the western side of Hais and Al-Khokha areas towards the east. I thought it was a star falling from the sky, and a few seconds later, the entire village was lit up and there was a huge explosion”.
Al-Shamiri added: “Neighbors and I went out immediately after the explosion and saw a disaster in the house of Shubat Abdulhafeez. Some of people in the area and I pulled out the bodies, and an hour later, I have moved the two children of Shubat Abdulhafeez, Abdulhalim and Ghosoun who were totally unconscious, to Al-Barah Hospital, which is about 25 km to the south, but they were referred directly to Jeblah Hospital in the city of Ibb because of the shortage of medical supplies. This area experienced no armed clashes, and this incident reflects the first disaster with this atrocity and this criminality. I do not know the source of the projectile, but I certainly know that the rocket was launched from the western side of Hais and Al-Khokha areas, and I did not hear the sizzling of any warplanes at that time”.
Abdulhafeez Abdulwali Al-Shamiri (60 years old), the father of the victims, who was selling Qat near the location of incident, said: “I was screaming and crying while I was on the rubble gathering the bodies of my children and grandchildren. We continued searching for bodies under the rubble for long hours since the incident took place at 8:00 pm until the next day at 12:00 noon. Finally, we found half the body of Ashghan, the wife of my son Shubat, which was charred. In a few seconds, I lost five people, including children”.
On the afternoon of Sunday, February 12, 2017, at around 1:00 pm, a projectile that hit a house in Al-Batinah village, the district of Al-Motoun, the governorate of Aljawf, resulted in the injury of three children and a woman.
The projectile hit the eastern part of the house. The attack has damaged the one-floor house built of mud-bricks. It is believed that the source of the projectile was the government compound which is about 3 kilometers apart from the house where the popular resistance is stationed. A security checkpoint of Ansar Allah (Houthis) is located to the south of the house, which is about one kilometer apart from the target house. This area is experiencing occasional clashes between the two parties to the conflict.
Use of Landmines:
The number of civilian victims killed and injured by landmine explosions continues to increase.
Mwatana documented at least 21 incidents of landmine explosions implanted by Ansar Allah (Houthis) and the forces loyal to the former President Saleh in five Yemeni governorates: Taiz, Aljawf, Al-Bayda, Mareb and Amran. These incidents took place for the period September 2016 through July 2017, killing seven civilians and injuring 50 civilians at least.
Last April, Mwatana released “Concealed Killer” report which documented 33 incidents as examples of landmine explosions into civilians, where such incidents were verified by the Organization through its field research for the period July 2015 through October 2016 in Aden, Taiz, Mareb, Sana’a, Al-Bayda and Lahej. These incidents resulted in the killing of 57 civilians and the injury of 47 others.
On Monday, April 3, 2017, at around 11:30 am, an explosion took place in the village of Al-Jufaina in Mareb when a big truck passed over a landmine, causing the injury of a child and his father.
Al-Jufaina in the city of Mareb is one of the areas where clashes took place between the Houthis and Saleh forces on one hand and the army loyal to President Hadi and the popular resistance on the other hand. Houthis and Saleh forces withdrew from this area in October 2015.
Hussain Ali Al-Hazmi (10 years old), a third-class student who was injured in the incident, said: “I did not go to the school that day in order to go with my father, Ali Hussein Al-Hazmi (35 years) to collect the stones on our truck and selling them in the market. We went to the area on the truck, and collected and loaded up the stones, and when we were finished, we moved back on the same road towards the center of the city. After we left the place, we stopped a little on the roadside because there was a big stone blocking our way. My father stopped next to it and asked me to remove it from the front of the left-side front tire. While I was digging and attempting to remove the stone, I heard a powerful explosion and heavy stones and dust scattered and hit my face, and the explosion has propelled me to the back”.
Al-Hazmi added: “I can no longer see with my eyes but a weak and distorted vision with a white membrane in my right eye, while I can no longer see anything with my left eye”.
Field Executions:
Chapter II of the “Chapters from Hell” report documented nine incidents of field executions carried out by the popular resistance and the forces loyal to President Hadi in the governorate of Taiz. During the period September 2016 through July 2017, Mwatana documented six incidents in Taiz.
The popular resistance and the forces loyal to President Hadi carry out extra-judicial executions against their opponents who are believed to be affiliates to Ansar Allah armed group (Houthis) and Saleh forces, or are believed to be sympathetic with or work in favor of Houthis.
Incidents of Arbitrary Detention, Enforced Disappearance and Torture:
Mwatana documented at least 30 incidents of arbitrary detention, 8 incidents of enforced disappearance and one incident of torture to death took place during the period September 2016 through July 2017 committed by Ansar Allah (Houthis) and the forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Mwatana has also documented at least 10 incidents of arbitrary detention, 2 incidents of enforced disappearance and 4 incidents of torture committed by the forces loyal to the government of President Hadi during the period September 2016 through July 2017.
Ansar Allah (Houthis) and Saleh forces continue to arbitrarily detain 16 journalists, including at least one journalist who has been forcibly disappeared since more than two years. These journalists have been tortured in varying periods. On Wednesday, 12 April 2017, the Specialized Criminal Court in Sana’a, which is under the control of the authorities of Houthis and former President Saleh, ruled “a death sentence to the journalist Yahya Al-Jubeihi for his espionage in favor of a foreign state“.
In last June, Mwatana released a statement titled “Torture in Yemen: Multiple Powers and One Behavior” in which it has stated that Mwatana verified of 30 cases of torture, in which at least three detainees had died as a result of torture in detention camps and centers run by the armed group of Ansar Allah (Houthis) and its ally, the former President Saleh.
Mwatana has also verified of 26 cases of torture in which at least one detainee has died in detention camps and centers run by the security belt forces, and forces affiliate to security directorate in the governorate of Aden, and the Hadrami elite forces; in areas under the control of President Hadi government.
Humanitarian Situation due to the Conflict in Yemen
Mwatana has verified dozens of incidents of preventing the access of humanitarian assistance in addition to the blockades imposed on certain cities, depriving enormous numbers of civilians in need of receiving essential humanitarian assistance and undermining their ability to manage their life affairs at a minimum.
The “Globally Worst” is the title and the benchmark reflecting the descriptions and details of the humanitarian crisis in Yemen after more than two years of violent conflict which pushed conditions of deterioration and instability that emerged before the war to the highest levels of deterioration and collapse and ending with the largest humanitarian crisis currently experienced by the country.
The war has created appropriate conditions for a series of acute crises that are interrelated, intertwined in their complexity and very rapidly exacerbated. The collapse is no longer an imminent threat but a reality. Displacement is no longer a potential nightmare but a truth suffered by around 2 million displaced people, according to UNHCR. Famine has turned from a specter feared by the population and warned by humanitarian organizations to a daily distress currently affecting 17 million Yemeni people suffering from food insecurity and do not know where the next meal will come from, according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Yemen.
The health system suffers from a major collapse that led to the interruption of more than 60% of health facilities, particularly as with the unpaid salaries of the civil servants in Yemen since ten month. The outbreak of cholera in the country caused the death of 2,000 people; and nearly 2 million children have acute malnutrition, making them more vulnerable to diseases and epidemics, particularly cholera for the time being.
Civilians in remote and most affected areas face difficulty in accessing feeding and treatment centers because they are unable to afford transportation to these facilities, particularly those run by international humanitarian and relief organizations within cities.
Of the photographs of war that Mwatana documented, there are families who lost their homes and livelihoods, vital roads, bridges and facilities, hospitals and health centers were bombed. The destruction also affected industrial and educational facilities, water schemes, and shops.
Obstacles to the Work of Civil Society Organizations, Particularly Human Rights Organizations
Since the takeover of the capital Sana’a by Ansar Allah (Houthis) with the force of arms in September 2014, the space available for civilian action has shrunk considerably. As the armed conflict escalated with the intervention of the Saudi-led Arab Coalition in March 2015, the complexities and actions against both local and international civil society organizations have increased.
Mwatana faces many challenges while working in the field. The most notable challenges is the instability of security situation or the continued military operations in a number of areas experiencing incidents of human rights violations and the inability to document them properly.
In addition, continuing waves of displacement due to armed conflict are a major impediment to obtaining testimonies of witnesses or victims who were exposed to violations in certain incidents. In addition, tampering with sites that are exposed to attacks and tampering with the remnants of the weapons used hinders the investigation and inquiry process in knowing the type of weapon used in the attack, for example, and in identifying its nature and which party owns such weapon.
More importantly, Mwatana field team has been exposed to the risk of smearing campaigns and also the risk of threats, investigation, interrogation and arbitrary detention both in areas controlled by the Ansar Allah (Houthis) and Saleh forces or areas controlled by the government of President Hadi and the groups loyal to him.
Performance of the National Commission to Investigate Allegations of Human Rights Violations
The National Commission to Investigate Allegations of Human Rights Violations, formed by the government of President Hadi, could not absolutely be considered as an entity having capacity to provide independent and substantive reports on the human rights situation in Yemen as it was formed by a party to the current conflict in Yemen.
The manner in which the National Commission is formed undermines its credibility and, ultimately, its ability to investigate violations and hold those involved in the violations accountable.
The National Commission has investigators and commissioners who lack independency from the political scene, and therefore, the National Commission is vulnerable to be influenced by those involved in violations or parties with a strong interest in concealing infringements and violations, as is the case with the Saudi-led Arab Coalition. Under the presidential decree and the reporting mechanism directly to the President, the National Commission has no independency at all.
Instead, and with the formation of an international investigative commission, there will be an outsized level of impartiality and independency off the internal political factors that make the independency of the National Commission an impossible matter.
Moreover, one of the most important challenges facing the National Commission is the lack of methodology, technical capacity and ways to implement the work on the ground. The situation on the ground requires advanced and independent international expertise to conduct thorough investigations.
The National Commission is not recognized by the Houthis and Saleh forces, and as such, the National Commission cannot obligate these parties to hand over documents to the Commission for review. Indeed, the Houthis and Saleh forces did not respond to the memorandums sent by the Commission.
Although the National Commission has stated that it will protect the witnesses and has refrained from disclosing their identities in the report, but the ability of its investigators to collect data from victims of violations committed by Hadi government or Houthis- Saleh forces has been severely affected as they are affiliated with the government (a party to the conflict), and the investigators are not seen as neutral and independent. Victims may be afraid to speak to National Commission investigators for fearing that the violations they were exposed to will not be treated seriously or for fearing that facts will be distorted.
President Hadi’s announcement that he has referred the allegations of violations of human rights and humanitarian law found in the National Commission’s reports to the attorney general, as reported by Saba news agency the version that is run by Hadi government, appears as an apparent attempt to undermine the establishment of an independent international investigation in Yemen.
Such a move disregards the victims, the concept of accountability, and the alarming situation in Yemen. While a referral of the cases of violations documented in the reports of the National Commission demonstrates willingness to pursue accountability, both the National Commission itself and their reports are fundamentally flawed. Additionally, Yemeni laws lack the provisions to provide the proper avenue through which many of these crimes can be charged, making accountability for some of the most egregious crimes more difficult. Moreover, Yemeni legal institutions have demonstrated an acute inability to investigate routine criminal cases, let alone investigate serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.
Parties to the conflict have a duty to investigate violations against International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law. However, these investigations should not be considered as sufficient. An international impartial investigations mechanism is needed to work independently and bring accountability to violators.
Radhya Al-Mutawakel said: “The victims are still waiting for serious strides be taken by the Human Rights Council for almost two years. The Council must approve the establishment of an independent international mechanism to inquire into violations perpetrated by all parties to the conflict in Yemen, and send a clear message to victims and their families that justice and accountability can be achieved in Yemen”.
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