FILE IMAGE
On September 13, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Geneva Abdulaziz al-Wasil said that Saudi Arabia is not against a proposed resolution at the UN Human Rights Council to launch an independent, international investigation of crimes in Yemen war. However, al-Wasil questioned the timing of this proposal.
“We have no objection (to) the inquiry itself, we just have a discussion about the timing … Whether this is the right time to establish an international commission with the difficulties on the ground, and we knew in advance that they will face tremendous obstacles in terms of access,” al-Wasil said from Geneva.
Both Canada and the Netherlands are backing the resolution in the UN Human Rights Council. However, al-Wasil claimed that the Yemeni National Commission (YNC) is in a “better position to investigate”. Al-Wasil added that Saudi Arabia will work to reach a middle ground with other sides.
On September 11, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid bin Ra’ad announced that the UN has verified at least 5,144 civilians who have been killed in Yemen war. Moreover, Ra’ad said that he doesn’t believe that the YNC can carry out an independent, international investigation of crimes in Yemen war.
If the YNC handles the investigation, the investigation can’t be considered “independent”, because the YNC is mainly backed by Saudi Arabia.
