Time to act on Houthi crimes
Since the war in Yemen started more than four years ago, the world has been focusing on the human suffering caused by the coalition air strikes, which have been carried out mainly by Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Although the tragic human suffering unintentionally caused by the airstrikes deserves to be given maximum attention, it is difficult to understand how such little attention has been given to the Houthis’ enormous crimes. Houthi insurgents in Yemen, who are funded, trained, armed and controlled by Iran, have been committing atrocities and war crimes. In its 2018 report on Yemen, Human Rights Watch stated that “Houthi forces have repeatedly fired artillery indiscriminately into Yemeni cities and launched indiscriminate ballistic missiles into Saudi Arabia. Some of these attacks may amount to war crimes.”
In July 2017, the Houthis targeted the holy city of Makkah with a ballistic missile that was, fortunately, intercepted by Saudi air defenses 69 kilometers before it reached its target. The attack took place at a time when Makkah was crowded with pilgrims, including visitors from all over the world.
This indiscriminate targeting of civilians in Saudi Arabia has not stopped. The two heavily populated cities of Jizan and Najran have been attacked on an almost weekly basis by both drones and ballistic missiles. In July, the Houthis launched a drone attack on a major oil refinery near the Saudi capital Riyadh, which resulted in a fire. Last month, the group launched a drone attack on the Shaybah oilfield and its refinery. And, most recently, the Houthis claimed responsibility for a drone and missile attack on the Saudi Aramco facilities of Abqaiq and Khurais, causing destructive fires at both.
In Yemen itself, the Houthis’ atrocities, war crimes and crimes against humanity are beyond description.
They span from torture, kidnap, rape and recruiting children as soldiers to the widespread indiscriminate bombing of heavily populated cities.
It is well known that the Geneva Convention of 1864, the four 1949 Geneva Conventions and the two 1977 Additional Protocols all prohibit the deliberate targeting of civilians and civilian facilities, and call for the protection of persons not or no longer taking part in hostilities. Many of the rules contained in these protocols and treaties are considered part of customary law and, as such, are binding on all states (and other parties to conflict), whether or not the states have ratified the treaties themselves.
The Houthis do not hide their intentions with regard to their attacks. They issue press releases and hold press conferences to announce their responsibility for every attack on civilian targets.
The world’s silence regarding the Houthis’ continuing atrocities is totally incomprehensible.
On Aug. 3 — that is seven weeks ago — many local and international news channels reported that 147 Yemeni civil society organizations had issued a joint statement denouncing regional and international silence on the crimes of the Houthi rebels. For the sake of the dignity of international law, it is time for this unacceptable disgrace to end.