Istanbul conference calls for tribunal to judge Yemen ‘crimes’

An Istanbul conference under the aegis of Nobel laureate Tawakkol Karman yesterday called for concrete measures to end the war in her native Yemen and an international court to judge those charged with crimes during the conflict. The conference, which was organised by Karman’s foundation, urged international players including the United Nations to take “deliberate and responsible actions to end the war and restore peace in Yemen”. The call came after UN special envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, said in late October it aims to relaunch Yemen peace talks “within a month”. Karman, who won the Nobel peace prize in 2011, was a key figure in the protests that ousted Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh during the Arab Spring uprisings. The conference called for a “referendum on a draft constitution” and the holding of presidential and parliamentary elections “under UN supervision to ensure a peaceful and legitimate power transition”. The participants also sought the establishment of an international court on Yemen to consider “all crimes committed by the local and international parties in the conflict”. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates lead a coalition in Yemen fighting Houthi rebels. In a speech to the conference on Thursday, Karman called on Riyadh and Abu Dhabi to end their “unconstructive interference in Yemen and stop supporting terrorist groups and armed militias as well as mercenaries who have assassinated Yemenis in Aden and Taiz.”