UN ends Yemen war crimes probe amid Saudi Arabia’s intense lobbying

The United Nations Human Rights Council has dropped an investigation into possible war crimes by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen amid reports of intense lobbying by Riyadh.

According to reports, members of the UN rights body pushed through a vote on Thursday to shut down war crimes investigations in Yemen, with 21 countries voting against the motion, 18 in favor and seven abstentions.

The vote marked the first time a resolution has been defeated in the UN Human Rights Council's 15-year history.

The resolution, led by the Netherlands, would have given independent investigators another two years to monitor atrocities perpetrated by the Saudi-led coalition during Yemen's protracted conflict.

Dutch ambassador Peter Bekker denounced the vote as a major setback, saying, "I cannot help but feel that this Council has failed the people of Yemen.”

"With this vote, the Council has effectively ended its reporting mandate, it has cut this lifeline of the Yemeni people to the international community," he added

Radhya Almutawakel, chairperson of the independent Yemeni activist group Mwatana for Human Rights, said she was deeply disappointed by Thursday’s vote.

"By voting against the renewal of the GEE today, UN member states have given a green light to warring parties to continue their campaign of death and destruction in Yemen,” she said, referring to the investigators known as the Group of Eminent Experts.

John Fisher of Human Rights Watch said the failure to renew the mandate was "a stain on the record of the Human Rights Council.”

"By voting against this much-needed mandate, many states have turned their back on victims, bowed to pressure from the Saudi-led coalition, and put politics before principle," he said.

The vote came as several rights advocacy groups revealed earlier this week that Saudi Arabia, which is not a voting member of the UN Human Rights Council, had been heavily lobbying against the resolution that would extend the mandate of UN investigators in Yemen.

"Saudi Arabia, a leading party to the conflict in Yemen accused of serious violations including likely war crimes, together with its coalition allies, is engaging in a tireless lobbying campaign to deter states at the Human Rights Council from renewing the inquiry mandate,” Afrah Nasser, Yemen researcher at US-based group Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.

Nasser said if the panel bowed to Saudi pressure and failed to extend the mandate by two years, it would be "a stain on the credibility of the Council and a slap in the face to victims.”

SS