http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/09/25/will-saudi-arabia-stop-un-investigating-its-war-atrocities-yemen
Published on
Friday, September 25, 2015
by
Common Dreams
Will Saudi Arabia Stop UN From Investigating Its War Atrocities in Yemen?
As Saudi government launches diplomatic blitz against human rights
probe, Obama administration remains silent
by
Sarah Lazare, staff writer
6 Comments
"The international community must seize this moment to establish a
credible, international inquiry that offers hope for accountability
and justice for victims of serious violations and abuses in Yemen,"
said James Lynch of Amnesty International. (Photo: Getty Images)
The Saudi Arabian government is unleashing a vigorous diplomatic
campaign to block a United Nations proposal for a human rights
investigation into the country's six-month-oldmilitary assault on
Yemen—waged with the backing of international powers including the
United States.
President Barack Obama has so far remained silent on the resolution,
which was submitted by the Netherlands Thursday and calls for the UN
Human Rights Council to launch a probe into abuses committed by all
parties.
The Dutch proposal requires the UN High Commissioner to "dispatch a
mission, with assistance from relevant experts, to monitor and report
on the human rights situation in Yemen." In addition, the resolution
calls for players to grant access to humanitarian aid, in a clear
reference to the Saudi-led and U.S.-backed naval blockade that is
choking off food and medical aid.
The proposal follows the call, earlier this month, by UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights Prince Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein for an
"international, independent, and impartial" investigation into human
rights violations. Groups including the Cairo Institute for Human
Rights, the Gulf Center for Human Rights, and Human Rights Watch have
also urged the international community to end the "impunity that fuels
humanitarian crisis" in Yemen.
"With no end to this deadly conflict in sight and a spiraling
humanitarian crisis, civilian suffering is at an all-time high," James
Lynch, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Amnesty
International, warned in a statement released Friday. "The
international community must seize this moment to establish a
credible, international inquiry that offers hope for accountability
and justice for victims of serious violations and abuses in Yemen."
However, the Saudi government and some of its key allies appear
determined to prevent such a probe.
"Saudi diplomats have robustly lobbied Asian, African and European
states through their capitals or missions in Geneva," Nick
Cumming-Bruce reports in the New York Times.
"Gulf countries Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates have
argued for shelving plans for an independent inquiry into rights
abuses in Yemen," writes Foreign Policyjournalist Colum Lynch, citing
notes obtained from a September 17 intergovernmental meeting. "They
maintained that a commission of inquiry established by the
Saudi-backed Hadi government should be given a chance to demonstrate
whether it has the capacity to do the job."
What's more, Saudi Arabia submitted a competing resolution on Monday
excluding any reference to an independent investigation and focusing
solely on abuses committed by "Houthi militias against the
government."
Despite its role in the war, the U.S. has yet to weigh in on the debate.
"The United States, which has provided extensive support to the
Saudi-led coalition, has been surprisingly discreet on whether a U.N.
mission should be dispatched to investigate crimes in Yemen," said
Philippe Bolopion, the U.N. and crisis advocacy director for Human
Rights Watch. "This stands in sharp contrast to U.S. support for
international inquiries and missions in Syria, North Korea, Libya, Sri
Lanka, and Eritrea."
The Obama administration's muteness is in keeping with its larger
silence about the Saudi-led military campaign, which the U.S. is
arming, politically backing, and directly participating in through
logistics and intelligence support.
At least 2,100 civilians, including more than 400 children, have been
killed—the vast majority by the Saudi alliance, which stands accused
of war crimes. The coalition has also fired cluster bombs produced in
the United States and launched deadly air strikes on humanitarian aid
warehouses, internally displaced persons camps, factories, densely
populated residential neighborhoods, schools, shelters, and water
infrastructure.
The Saudi government's efforts to prevent a probe come amid growing
concern over the petro-monarchy's recent appointment to head a UN
human rights panel, a development that was welcomed by the U.S. State
Department.
Received on Sun Sep 27 2015 - 22:01:48 EDT