Yemen’s rights issues require more equitable, efficient approach: Dr Bucheeri tells UNHRC

­TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Yemen deserves to be dealt with in a more equitable and efficient manner on human rights issues, said Bahrain’s representative to United Nations Office, Dr Yusuf AbdulKarim Bucheeri, following a vote ending UNHRC’s probe into war crimes in Yemen.

Bahrain, Russia and other member states voted against a resolution to extend a probe by the UN Human Rights Council into war crimes in Yemen on Thursday. The vote pronounced a stinging defeat for Western states who sought to keep the mission going.

In the vote called by Bahrain, the 47-member Council narrowly voted to reject a resolution led by the Netherlands to give the independent investigators another two years. It marked the first time in the Council’s 15-year history that a resolution was defeated.

During a debate ahead of the vote, Dr Yusuf AbdulKarim Bucheeri, the Permanent Representative of Bahrain to the United Nations Office and other international organisations in Geneva, said Bahrain and the countries of the Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen were essential parties in establishing the UN Group of Eminent International and Regional Experts.

“We had cooperated full and transparently with the experts, but unfortunately, the GEE misused its mandate and overlooked the provisions of the UN Security Council Resolution,” he said.

“The GEE describing the Houthi militia leader as the “Leader of the Revolution” and militias “de facto” authorities contradict the Security Council’s resolutions and legitimises the coup in Yemen,” he added.

He also pointed out that the investigating team’s reports contributed significantly to deepening the gap between the Yemeni parties. Their reports, Dr Bucheeri said, impeded the return of the legitimate government by confusing international public opinion regarding the Yemeni crisis by considering that it began with the intervention of the coalition.

Yemen’s Minister of Legal Affairs and Human Rights, Ahmed Oman Arman, stressed that the Human Rights Council’s refusal to extend the mandate of the expert group on Yemen was its first positive message to Yemenis regarding their position on the Houthi militia.

Bias and unprofessionalism In a statement to the Emirati “Al-Bayan” newspaper, the Yemeni minister said the Houthis considered the vote to extend the mandate of GEE as a green light for them to continue their crimes for the past three years.

He added that they have always warned against bias and unprofessionalism. “GEE falls under the influence of forces that support the Houthis, tries to improve their image, and mislead international public opinion about the reality of the situation in Yemen,” he said. He described the vote to reject the extension as a victory for the Yemenis.