International organizations on Wednesday urged the United Nations Human Rights Council to create a commission of inquiry to investigate "alleged serious laws-of-war violations in Yemen".
In a press release, Human Rights Watch and 22 other rights and humanitarian organizations said all the warring parties have committed violations during the conflict which began after the Houthi militants ousted the government in September.
Around 2,000 civilians have been killed since the Saudi-led bombing campaign began in late March, the majority from airstrikes, according to figures released by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The organizations said that pro-Houthi forces have repeatedly fired mortar shells and rockets indiscriminately into populated areas.
On Tuesday, Amnesty International accused all the warring parties including the Saudi-led military coalition of attacks killing many civilians that may amount to war crimes.
“The allegations of indiscriminate and other unlawful attacks killing civilians in Yemen raise questions that can only be answered through an international investigation,” said Philippe Dam, Geneva deputy director at Human Rights Watch.
“By shining a light on laws-of-war violations by all parties, the Human Rights Council can deter further abuses and help provide justice for the victims,” he said.
The UN has been calling on the parties to the conflict to abide by the laws of war and to investigate attacks resulting in civilian casualties.
The organizations accused the Arab coalition of using cluster munitions in populated areas while criticizing the blockade on all Yemeni sea, land and aid ports which has had a severe impact on civilians.
According to the UN, 21 million Yemenis – a staggering 80 percent of the population – need assistance and half the population is facing food insecurity. More than 15.2 million people lack access to basic health care, and over 20 million lack access to safe water.
With commercial imports accounting for 90 percent of Yemen’s food and fuel supplies, the coalition-imposed blockade may amount to starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, a war crime, they said.
Other parties including non-state armed groups have repeatedly violated the medical neutrality of healthcare centers and healthcare and aid workers, they added.
The Human Rights Council has adopted several resolutions on Yemen since 2011, but none since the Saudi-led coalition’s airstrike campaign began, the statement said.
“Remaining silent in the face of the serious human rights and laws-of-war violations being committed in Yemen shouldn’t be an option for the UN’s foremost human rights body, or for council members such as the United States and the United Kingdom that support the Saudi-led coalition,” Dam said. “The Human Rights Council should honor their responsibility to the people of Yemen by immediately creating a credible mechanism to investigate the abuses being committed by all parties.”