UN warns over Yemen arms

STATES selling arms to the participants of the Yemeni conflict, including France, the United Kingdom and the United States, may be held responsible for their actions, as they exacerbate humanitarian catastrophe in the wartorn country, UN experts said in a report published yesterday.

“States may be held responsible for providing aid or assistance for the commission of international law violations if the conditions for complicity are fulfilled,” the report said.

The experts then specifically called out France, the United Kingdom and the United States, speculating that they have contributed to the plight of the Yemeni people, given the fact that their arms sales to Yemen are under scrutiny by the courts.

“The legality of arms transfers by France, the UK, the US and other states remains questionable, and is the subject of various domestic court proceedings. The Group of Experts observes that the continued supply of weapons to parties involved in the conflict in Yemen perpetuates the conflict and the suffering of the population,” the report said.

A Saudi-led coalition has been engaged in the civil war in Yemen since March 2015, when it started to carry out airstrikes against the Houthi rebels. A UN human rights report released last year attributed most of the 16 000 civilian deaths in Yemen to the coalition’s airstrikes on targets such as hospitals, schools and open-air markets. |