UN official: We documented cases of torture and rape in Yemen and the UAE involved

Melissa Barki, a member of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Team, has estimated that tens of thousands of civilians have died in the war since 2015, far more than official figures show, and confirmed documented cases of torture and rape involving the UAE and the forces supporting it.

This came in an interview conducted by Barki with Anatolia and commented on a report, the second of its kind, by a panel of eminent experts appointed by the United Nations in December 2017 to monitor and report on human rights violations in Yemen.

Barki said official figures in Yemen indicate that the number of civilians killed by the war is close to 10,000, stressing that these figures do not reflect the truth in any way, due to the continuation of the war, and restrict access to accurate information.

The official said that the real number of civilians killed in the direct result of the fighting in Yemen is estimated at tens of thousands. Health. "

She said that 24.1 million Yemenis, or 80 percent of the population, are in urgent need of assistance in order to survive, noting that the coalition forces bombing of the cholera treatment center of MSF, could be considered a possible war crime.

Accountability of perpetrators
Barki, in the same context, said Tunisian Kamal Jendoubi, who heads the UN team, in August, handed over a "secret list" of the United Nations, which included the names of people from the government in Yemen, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, suspected of committing war crimes in the country.

She also confirmed that Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, would keep this secret list until the international community established a "mechanism of accountability" for war crimes in Yemen, which would be presented to the court by the commissioner when the mechanism was established.

Barki warned the United States, Britain and France not to continue arming the parties to the Yemeni conflict, especially Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, demanding an immediate end to their arming.

She also warned that "the continued provision of arms by these countries to the Arab coalition forces may make them responsible for war crimes and violations of international human rights law in Yemen."

Secret detention centers
The UN official also pointed to the existence of secret detention centers inaccessible to some of the conflicting parties in Yemen, including the Houthis, noting that the UAE has such activities, especially in the south of the country.

"The UAE is torturing all detainees, including women. Sometimes they also sexually abuse detainees. We have documented cases of rape carried out by UAE-backed forces," she said.

She called on the international community to hold those responsible for war crimes in Yemen accountable. "They must be held accountable immediately, because the innocent Yemeni people are the only victims of that war. It is time to take a step in this regard, and the international community is doing many things to hold them accountable."

There was no immediate comment from all the parties.

It is noteworthy that the UN report issued on Tuesday, reported that rape in Yemen carried out by UAE-backed forces in secret detention centers, pointing out the possible involvement of the parties to the conflict, including the coalition of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, in war crimes, and violations of international law.

The report details the international crimes committed by the Arab Coalition in Yemen. It also highlighted the human rights violations committed by the UAE in the same country, as opposed to its first version issued last year.

He also pointed out that the Houthi group is bombing cities, and recruiting children, pointing to the possibility of Iran to secure weapons for that group.