SCOTS politicians yesterday backed United Nations calls for an independent investigation into alleged war crimes in Yemen.
Launching a new report on human rights violations, the UN said 3799 civilians have been killed and 6711 injured as a result of the 17-month war.
Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the UN’s human rights chief, said air strikes by the Arab coalition were responsible for the majority of civilian deaths.
The report highlighted attacks on residential areas, markets, schools and hospitals between July 2015 and June 2016.
The conflict is between Saudi-led coalition forces loyal to ousted president Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi and Houthi rebels backed by Iran.
Nearly three million people have had to flee their homes and eight million are malnourished.
Al Hussein called for “an international, independent investigative body to carry out comprehensive investigations”.
He added: “Civilians in Yemen have suffered unbearably over the years from a number of simultaneous and overlapping armed conflicts. They continue to suffer. Any form of accountability and justice is absent, while those responsible for violations and abuses against them enjoy impunity.
“Such a manifestly unjust situation must no longer be tolerated by the international community.”
The Saudi-led coalition use British-made warplanes dropping British-made bombs, some with laser-guided systems produced by US arms firm Raytheon at its factory in Fife.
Allegations that civilians have been targeted have brought huge pressure on the UK Government to suspend arms sales to Saudi Arabia.
Last year, the British Government approved more than £3billion worth of arms sales to the Saudis.
We revealed last month that a code on a bomb fragment linked Raytheon and another Scots firm to an alleged war crime.
The UK Government are facing a judicial review into arms sales to the Saudis and MPs have been investigating the issue.
Dunfermline and West Fife MP Douglas Chapman sits on the arms exports controls committee. He said: “A draft report has been prepared and it’s important we publish our findings at the earliest opportunity once Parliament returns in a few weeks.
“I have written to the chair of the committee today, urging him to make sure this is our number one action item on our return, especially in light of the UK Government’s withdrawal of answers to parliamentary questions and the retrospective changes they have made to ministerial statements.
“It’s clear that UK Government ministers have misjudged the situation in Yemen very badly indeed. They are covering their tracks. The call for an independent investigation into violations of international humanitarian law is well founded and that inquiry can’t come soon enough.”
Scottish Greens external affairs spokesman Ross Greer MSP said: “When the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights calls out violations and abuses, the US and Britain cannot ignore the situation any longer.
“From the use of child soldiers to the dropping of bombs on civilian areas, we bear responsibility thanks to the Westminster Government signing off deeply unethical arms deals. It also underlines the need for the Scottish Government to withdraw support from firms based here who make weapons components.”
Magdalena Mughrabi, of Amnesty International, said: “We welcome the UN High Commissioner’s call for the establishment of an international, independent body to investigate allegations of grave violations of international human rights and humanitarian law being carried out by both sides of the conflict in Yemen.
“Amnesty International have been calling for such an investigation for months and, so far, the response from the international community has been woefully inadequate.”
The Foreign Office said: “We remain deeply concerned about the human rights situation in Yemen. We are aware of the human rights situation report published by the UN’s Office of the High Commission for Human Rights on August 25 and welcome the opportunity for this to be discussed at the next session of the Human Rights Council in September 2016.
“We are aware of reports of alleged violations of international humanitarian law (IHL) by actors in the conflict and take these seriously. It is important that all sides conduct thorough, conclusive investigations into incidents where it is alleged that IHL has been breached.
“Saudi Arabia has publicly stated that it is investigating reports of alleged violations of IHL and that lessons will be acted upon.
“On August 4, the Saudi-led coalition announced the outcome of eight investigations into incidents of alleged breaches of IHL during the conflict.”
The UN report followed criticism of arms sales to Saudi Arabia. Oxfam said the UK is “one of the most significant violators” of the Arms Trade Treaty, which is supposed to prevent war crimes.
Oxfam GB’s Penny Lawrence said: “The UK Government are in denial and disarray over arms sales to the Saudi-led coalition bombing campaign in Yemen. They have misled parliament about their oversight of arms sales and their international credibility is in jeopardy as they commit to action on paper but do the opposite in reality. How can the Government insist that others abide by a treaty they helped set up if they flagrantly ignore it?”
The SNP’s Alison Thewliss, MSP for Glasgow Central, accused the Home Office of causing Yemeni refugees further stress by failing to process their political asylum claims quickly.
She said in the first quarter of 2016, there were 101 pending decisions regarding applications by Yemenis.Thewliss added: “The UK is selling weapons that have ended up falling on hospitals and killing many people.
“From my point of view, that’s appalling. Meanwhile, I have two constituents from Yemen who the Home Office said couldn’t stay here.
“It is worrying that these people are suffering so much uncertainty and stress while getting news each day about what’s happening at home. I think the UK should be giving these people some sort of certainty.”
A Yemeni refugee living in Glasgow Central was among those caught up in the asylum system. Farid – not his real name – waited nearly seven years for a decision from the Home Office and ended up homeless and destitute after an initial application failed.
He was only recently granted temporary leave to remain for five years but cannot bring his family.
Pharmacist Farid said: “I can’t go back to Yemen as my life is not safe there. I came here from Saada province in north Yemen when I was 34 years old and only got a decision from the UK Government in May. I’m now 41.
“I have made 126 visits to the Home Office in seven years. I want to work as a pharmacist and pay tax but I have little money and live in a hostel.”
Kristine Berkerle, a human rights campaigner has said: "Britain can no longer turn a blind eye. After the latest attack on one of their facilities, Doctors Without Borders were 'outraged at having to send condolences once more to families of our staff members and 10 patients who should’ve been safe in a hospital'."