US may create new body to record human rights abuses in Yemen

Source: The Guardian

US may create new body to record human rights abuses in Yemen

Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Washington
@skirchy
Tue 12 Jul 2022 03.28 EDT
Last modified on Tue 12 Jul 2022 03.29 EDT

The Biden administration is exploring the creation of a new international committee to document and report on human rights violations in Yemen, months after a Saudi lobbying campaign quashed an independent United Nations investigation into possible war crimes.

The revelation comes days before Joe Biden begins a Middle East tour that will include a visit to Israel and – controversially – Saudi Arabia, where the US president has said his aim is to strengthen the “strategic partnership” while also “holding true to fundamental American values”.

Abdulrasheed al-Faqih, a prominent Yemeni human rights defender who is visiting the US, told the Guardian in an interview that he had discussed Washington’s plan to create a new “international mechanism” to investigate war crimes at a recent meeting at the US state department.

Al-Faqih said the administration’s proposed plan to “replace” the independent UN body that had been investigating possible war crimes was deeply flawed. The state department, he said, was considering including representatives from Yemen’s presidential leadership council, which has close ties to Riyadh, as a “partner” in the new international mechanism.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/12/us-may-create-new-body-to-record-human-rights-abuses-in-yemen