Commission reports thousands of crimes against Yemeni civilians by Houthis

ADEN -- All parties to the conflict in Yemen must work to reinstate the truce and establish peace, as that is the only way to end the bloodshed and human rights violations, say Yemeni officials and activists.

The National Commission to Investigate Alleged Violations to Human Rights in Yemen (NCIAVHR) on December 29 announced it had completed the investigation of 3,411 violations across all Yemeni provinces.

These cases include 940 incidents targeting civilians, in which 447 people were killed, 35 of whom were women and 82, children.

Women and children accounted for about a third of the wounded.

The commission completed an investigation into land mines and improvised explosive device (IED) explosions that claimed 426 victims, including 23 women and 106 children, and documented the arrest and disappearance of 968 victims.

It also documented 17 incidents in which archaeological and religious artefacts were targeted, and 14 assaults on medical crews and facilities.

It has recorded 1,092 cases of destruction of private and public property, and 131 cases of recruitment of children under 15.

In 2022, NCIAVHR said, its field team completed investigations into the bombing of 52 houses, the forced displacement of 144 families, and 87 cases of extrajudicial killings.

The commission heard the testimonies of more than 9,502 whistleblowers and witnesses of various human rights violations in the majority of Yemeni provinces, and examined more than 17,055 documents.

In its 10th report, the commission demanded a stop to the war in Yemen, and recommended that steps be taken to achieve peace and protect civilians.

It also called on the international community to intensify diplomatic efforts to reach a comprehensive ceasefire for a lasting peace, and to increase funding for emergency humanitarian response plans.

Houthis, main perpetrators

An immediate stop to the war and a lasting ceasefire would stop the violations, NCIAVHR spokeswoman Ishraq al-Maqtari told Al-Mashareq.

The commission urged the parties to stop the war, she said, and called on the United Nations (UN) to exert pressure to restore talks and build a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in all reports it has prepared since 2016.

She highlighted the responsibility of the Iran-backed Houthis in most of the documented violations in 2022, which she said comprise 40 types of violation.

They include the killing and torture of civilians, forced disappearances, targeting of objects, recruitment of children to fight on the frontlines and assaults on women and children, she said.

The Houthis were the top perpetrator of several violations, including the recruitment of children and laying mines, al-Maqtari said.

The group took advantage of the humanitarian truce that began April 2 and ended October 2; targeted civilians in Taez, al-Hodeidah and other provinces; and continued to besiege and block the main roads to Taez province, she said.

During the ceasefire, NCIAVHR recorded the death of 124 civilians from anti-personnel mine explosions.

It also recorded the death and injuries of 108 civilians, including 16 women and 23 children, in sporadic shelling and sniper fire, she said.

The Houthis have committed "a large number of various violations and crimes", including killing under torture, mock trials and the liquidation of opponents, said Fahmi al-Zubairi, director general of the Human Rights Office in Sanaa.

He called for the development of a clear strategy "to protect civilians, stop these crimes and preserve them in the national memory in order to hold the perpetrators to account".

Violation of all agreements

Yemeni Deputy Minister of Justice Faisal al-Majeedi said the groups that pursue violence as a means to impose their political agenda have no interest in peace.

They believe they are more entitled to rule and therefore "abolish the rights of other parties", he told Al-Mashareq.

The Houthis have violated all the agreements they have made, including the Stockholm Agreement, he said.

They reaped 35 billion YER in revenue from the entry of oil through al-Hodeidah port, in violation of this accord, he said.

"During the recent truce, the Houthis looted 150 billion YER, which was sufficient to pay employees' salaries for several months," he said.

"There is no peace without justice," lawyer and human rights activist Abdul Rahman Berman said. "The peace that is desired today must not only end the conflict, but also stop all violations."