Attachments
Human Rights Council
Thirty-third session
Agenda items 2 and 10
Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General
Technical assistance and capacity-building
Summary
The present report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 30/18. In the report, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights provides an overview of the extent and quality of the cooperation between the national commission of inquiry and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. He also describes alleged violations and abuses of international human rights law and alleged violations of international humanitarian law by parties to the ongoing conflict. The High Commissioner concludes the report with recommendations for the parties to the conflict in Yemen.
I. Introduction and mandate
1. In its resolution 30/18, the Human Rights Council requested the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to provide technical assistance and to work with the Government of Yemen, as required, in the field of capacity-building, and to identify additional areas of assistance to enable Yemen to fulfil its human rights obligations, and specifically requested the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to assist the national independent commission of inquiry in meeting its work in accordance with international obligations, as mandated in Presidential Decree 140 of 22 September 2012. It requested the High Commissioner to present to the Council, at its thirty-first session, an oral update on the situation of human rights in Yemen, and to present to the Council, at its thirty-third session, a written report on the development and implementation of the resolution. In the resolution, the Council expressed deep concern at the serious abuses and violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law in Yemen.
2. In the present report the High Commissioner provides an overview of the extent and quality of the cooperation between the national commission of inquiry and OHCHR. After initial difficulties, OHCHR provided the national commission with technical assistance. At the time of the drafting of the present report, however, the national commission had not provided information on its methodology or findings. In the absence of adequate documentation by the national commission, the High Commissioner has outlined in the report a number of allegations relating to violations in order to substantiate his recommendations to the Human Rights Council. The allegations include violations and abuses of international human rights law and violations of international humanitarian law; in particular those relating to the impact of attacks on the population in Yemen, the recruitment of children for their use in hostilities, and violations of freedom of expression that allegedly took place between 1 July 2015 and 30 June 2016.