Attachments
Human Rights Council
Forty-eighth session
3 September–1 October 2021
Agenda item 2
Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General
Summary
The present conference room paper, submitted as a supplement to the report of the Group of Eminent International and Regional Experts on Yemen on the situation of human rights in Yemen, including violations and abuses, since September 2014 (A/HRC/48/20), evaluates the actions of parties to the conflict in Yemen in the accountability sphere during the current reporting period (1 July 2020 – 30 June 2021) and elaborates further upon necessary action at both the domestic and international levels. The relatively minor developments seen this year have by no means been adequate or sufficient to quell the prevailing “pandemic of impunity” in Yemen. Nor has there been substantive progress in relation to the provision of redress to victims. Urgent remedial action is required if victims are to regain any hope that their rights to truth, justice and reparation will be realized.
It remains vital for the international community to help bridge the accountability gap through taking specific initiatives such as referring the situation in Yemen to the International Criminal Court; expanding the list of persons subject to sanctions under Security Council resolution 2140; and establishing an international criminal justice-focused investigative mechanism.
No sustainable peace can be achieved in Yemen in the absence of accountability. Notwithstanding the ongoing conflict, concrete steps can be taken now to maximize Yemen’s preparedness for such a peace. These steps include enhancing the inclusivity of the peace process; integrating a principled approach to accountability in discussions of any peace agreement; creating and preserving the space for discussions of transitional justice, including prioritizing consultations with victims; and strengthening the capacities of Yemeni civil society.