At least 14 international organizations have urged the United Nations Human Rights Council to hold a special meeting to discuss the status of human rights in Yemen.
The organizations expressed their concerns about deteriorating human rights and the possibility that the situation in the protest-hit Yemen becomes a human rights crisis if the UN does not take action now.
The pro-government forces deliberately and violently cracked down on the protests using live bullets in some cities including Sana’a, the capital, Taiz and Aden, the organizations said in their statement.
Furthermore, the Yemeni government supported snipers and gunmen to kill more than 50 protesters outside Sana’a University on March 18 in the square of change, where tens of thousands have been conducting a sit-in for almost two months to call for the ouster of the regime, the statement said.
Since the anti-government protests spread to many parts of Yemen and started to be staged daily, the reaction of the security forces has been more violent and more oppressive, with the government using excessive force to thwart the popular uprising demanding the departure of President Saleh, it said.
In addition, the organizations criticized the state of emergency President Saleh declared after dozens had been killed and hundreds injured on March 18, saying the move was taken without notifying the member states of the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights. What the Yemeni government has taken including passing the emergency law by the House of Representatives aimed to give the security authorities more powers to arrest the people and impose many chains on gatherings, ignoring the penal laws, they said.
Violations of human rights in Yemen including the rights of living, organizing rallies and forming associations, travel freedom and access to health services were not in accordance with the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights and other international human rights accords.
“We urge the international community to take action over all violations in Yemen and to look into complaints over physical abuse by the security forces to bring those responsible for justice,” the organizations said.