The European Union (EU) has accused all parties to the Yemen conflict of committing “grave violations” of both human rights and international humanitarian law.
A statement issued by the European Union Delegation to Yemen on Friday 11 December, International Human Rights Day, said that, “grave violations of human rights and international humanitarian law have been perpetrated throughout the conflict by all parties.”
Amongst violations committed by all parties are “extrajudicial executions, arbitrary arrests, torture, enforced disappearances, in addition to sexual and gender-based violence, and the violation of children’s rights and the freedom of expression”, the statement added.
The EU condemned these “violations”, and stressed that “Yemenis deserve lasting peace and respect of their rights at all times.”
The EU’s Delegation called for “independent and impartial accountability mechanisms to investigate these violations.”
Yemen has seen nearly seven years of continuous war between pro-government forces backed by an Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia, and the Iran-backed Houthis, who have since September 2014 controlled several governorates, including that of capital, Sanaa.
The UN has estimated that, by the end of 2021, the war has, directly and indirectly, killed 377,000 people.
20 million people in Yemen urgently require humanitarian relief, according to the UN’s World Food Programme.
Last October, the World Health Organisation announced that three-quarters of Yemen’s children suffer “malnutrition”.
The war has cost the Yemeni economy US$ 126 billion, in one of the worst humanitarian and economic crises in the world. The majority of Yemen’s 30 million population is dependent on aid, according to the UN.
