Ending GEE mandate a major step in Yemen

Move also marks a victory for the Arab Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in nation

The United Nations Human Rights Council has finally ended the mandate of the so-called Group of Eminent International and Regional Experts on Yemen (GEE), who have been investigating alleged abuses in the ongoing war in the country.

In a landmark decision, the 47-member council voted against renewing the mandate of the group. It is the first time the UN’s human rights body has ever rejected a draft resolution since its foundation in 2006.

The vote also represents a victory for the Arab Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen, led by Saudi Arabia as it vindicates the coalition which has systematically and unfairly been accused by the group of alleged violation in Yemen, despite evidence that those alleged violations are mostly perpetrated by the Iran-backed Al Houthi militias that continue to wage war against the Yemeni people and the internationally-recognised government.

By ending the GEE group’s mandate, it is clear that most of the UN rights body’s member recognised the inconsistency and the often-biased nature of its reports. On numerous occasions, the group exceeded its mandate or proved politically motivated. The coalition refuted all of the group’s allegations. At the same time, the group ignored the repeated and independently-verified war crimes perpetrated by Al Houthis against the Yemeni people, most recently the indiscriminate shelling of residential areas in the Marib province.

The group also tended to ignore the continuous the militia’s attacks by explosives-laden drones on civilian areas in southern Saudi Arabia, despite worldwide condemnation. On Friday, one day after the UN Human Rights Council’s vote, 10 people were injured in two explosives-laden drone attacks in the Saudi city of Jizan.

Riyadh, meanwhile has been pushing for a peaceful and political end to the war. The Kingdom last year presented an initiative, supported by the GCC, the Arab League, the UN and the European Union, to end the conflict and form a new inclusive government in Yemen. But the plan was rejected by Al Houthis.

The vote to end the GEE group’s mandate is an important step to exert more pressure on Al Houthis and their Iranian sponsors to end the war. The region, and the world, can no longer tolerate the terrorist acts of a proxy militia that holds an important country like Yemen hostage to the self-serving agenda of its foreign sponsor.