Written answers

Tuesday, 10 May 2022

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Human Rights

Photo of Bernard DurkanBernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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453. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the extent to which the international community is aware of and alert to human rights abuses in Yemen; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23433/22]

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Yemen is one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, driven by seven years of conflict, economic collapse and the breakdown of public institutions and services which has left millions of people in need of humanitarian assistance. Ireland fully supports the efforts of the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, to bring about a political resolution to the conflict in Yemen.

There have been numerous reports of acts in the course of the conflict which are contrary to international human rights law, including; damage and destruction to civilian infrastructure, gender based violence including sexual violence, torture, mistreatment of prisoners, violations against children including the recruitment of child soldiers, and violations against journalists, human rights defenders, minorities, migrants and internally displaced persons.

Ireland has consistently called on all parties to the conflict to respect international humanitarian law and international human rights law including in our position as a UN Security Council member. At the UN Human Rights Council in 2017, Ireland was part of a core group of countries along with the Netherlands, Belgium, Canada and Luxembourg that drove forward the adoption of a Resolution establishing a UN Group of Eminent Experts (GEE) to carry out investigations into alleged violations of human rights and international humanitarian law by all parties to the conflict in Yemen.

Ireland deeply regrets that a majority of countries on the Human Rights Council in Geneva voted against a further extension of the GEE mandate in October of last year and we remain committed to ensuring accountability in Yemen. An independent mechanism which can gather testimonies will be key in this context.

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