Press conference for eye on humanity center on crimes of coalition of aggression against Yemen

The Eye on Humanity Center for Rights and Development held a press conference on Tuesday to review the crimes of the US-Saudi-Emirati coalition of aggression against Yemen under the slogan “Continuous Aggression and Siege.”

The Deputy Minister of Justice and Human Rights, Judge Ibrahim Al-Shami, stressed the importance of the conference in shedding light on the statistics of the aggression’s crimes and the effects of the siege imposed on Yemen, and the severe human, social, and economic repercussions it left behind.

He pointed out that the conference does not represent a passing media event, nor merely an occasion to review numbers and facts, but rather represents a documented testimony before the world, and a human rights and legal record that preserves the memory of the victims, and places the international community before its moral and legal responsibilities.

Judge Al-Shami reported that what the Yemeni people were subjected to during the painful years of aggression and siege was a continuous path of targeting that affected the Yemeni person in his life, security, food, medicine, education, and future.

He said, “The siege imposed on Yemen can only be viewed as a major crime and a grave violation of basic human rights, foremost of which is the right to life, health, food, education, movement, and living with dignity. The siege cannot be separated from the studied and systematic strategy of America and the Zionist entity in employing its tools to exhaust more than one Arab country and its societies and weaken them from within, at the lowest possible cost, and without the need for direct military war.”

The Deputy Minister of Justice noted that the danger of the siege is no less dangerous than direct military aggression; rather, it may be more severe in impact and longer in duration, because it sneaks into the details of daily life, depletes a person in his food, medicine, work, and education, affects the system of values and social relations, and opens the way for the widening circle of poverty, crime, exploitation, and extortion.

He added, “The aggression and siege on Yemen was not a separate Saudi or Emirati action from the American-Zionist project; rather, the participation of the Saudi and Emirati regimes came at the forefront of the military and siege scene in implementation of broader goals and interests that seek to subjugate Yemen, control its sovereign decision, plunder its wealth, and control its strategic location.”

He also stressed that exposing the reality of this scheme, and clarifying its dimensions, objectives, and tools, represents a national, human rights, and media responsibility, because confronting the siege is not done only by addressing its direct results, but begins with understanding its goals, exposing the parties behind it, and thwarting its political, economic, and social bets.

The Deputy Minister of Justice explained that the rules of international humanitarian law are clear in criminalizing the targeting of civilians and civilian objects, in the necessity of distinguishing between military and civilian targets, in protecting children, women, persons with disabilities, and the elderly, and in preventing collective punishment, starving the civilian population, and using the siege as a means of pressure and subjugation.

He considered the statistics, facts, and documented evidence contained in the conference to be of paramount importance, not only in exposing the crimes of the aggression, but in establishing legal responsibility, safeguarding the rights of victims, and preparing the necessary ground to prosecute the perpetrators of crimes and those who caused them, whatever their positions and titles.

Judge Al-Shami renewed the emphasis that grave crimes do not expire by statute of limitations, and the rights of victims must not be lost under political pressures or double standards… expressing regret that there are international institutions that raise slogans of protecting human rights while remaining silent in the face of the Yemeni people’s suffering or settling for general statements that do not rise to the level of the magnitude of the tragedy and violations committed against them.

He called on the United Nations, the Human Rights Council, international organizations, and judicial and human rights bodies to assume their responsibilities in opening impartial and transparent investigations, and ensuring the accountability of everyone who participated, contributed, incited, or funded the crimes committed against the Yemeni people.

He demanded the complete lifting of the siege, the halting of unjust measures that affect the lives of civilians and their basic rights, ensuring the flow of food, medicine, fuel, and humanitarian needs without restrictions or extortion, and lifting all restrictions imposed on ports, airports, and the movement of citizens.

The Deputy Minister of Justice noted that the responsibility of the Ministry and the institutions of the judicial authority does not stop at the limits of condemnation or expressing positions, but includes documenting violations, preserving evidence, collecting files, and enhancing the legal and human rights path in a way that guarantees that the rights of victims are not lost.

In turn, the Chairman of the National Authority for Human Rights, Ali Taysir, explained that Yemen was subjected to a multinational global aggression that lasted for 12 years, during which war crimes, crimes against humanity, and fully-fledged crimes of genocide were committed, in which the material, moral, and legal elements were fulfilled.

He mentioned that the multinational US-Saudi-Emirati-Israeli aggression, along with approximately seventeen countries, targeted everything related to the Yemeni person, including hospitals, schools, universities, roads, sanitation facilities, and even the graves of the dead.

Taysir pointed out that the coalition of aggression countries wanted to deprive the Yemeni person of everything by imposing a tight siege by land, sea, and air, and committed what many countries have not committed in their armed conflicts and previous wars… emphasizing that Yemen is the only Arab country whose airports and ports were all closed, and human history has not witnessed, even during the First and Second World Wars, the closing of the airports of an entire country as happened in Yemen, with direct international blessing.

He noted that the aggression committed grave crimes, and alongside direct crimes, there were other crimes that were not equally visible, represented in the effects of the siege, which were more severe in impact and more criminal than the crimes resulting from direct military strikes.

He stressed that the United Nations has lost the justifications for its existence and is no longer able to take a fair stance before the major powers.

For his part, the head of the Eye on Humanity Center, Ahmed Abu Hamra, explained that the convening of the conference comes to stand before the ongoing catastrophic consequences of the siege and the crimes resulting from the operations of the coalition of aggression, and to confront the continuation of international disregard for one of the largest humanitarian crises in contemporary history.

He counted the conference, at the national level, as an inclusive national human rights outcry seeking to protect the rights of the Yemeni person, consolidate fundamentals, and urge entities and institutions to continue mobilizing energies to confront systematic starvation, and address the effects of aggression and economic siege.

He said, “At the global level, the conference represents an explicit and direct confrontation with the international community and UN bodies, to expose them before global public opinion, place them before their legal and moral responsibilities, and break the wall of international silence imposed around Yemen’s grievance. It is also considered a historical document of condemnation that preserves the rights of victims, and prevents the erasing or forgetting of the truth, so that it remains a bright witness condemning criminals and pursuing them judicially across generations, so that no right is lost by statute of limitations.”

He added, “What the Eye on Humanity Center monitors is not merely reports or condemnations, but accurate field data that documented glaring crimes and violations against civilians and infrastructure,” explaining that the total number of direct victims of the aggression and siege reached more than 54,219 civilians, including 19,446 martyrs and 34,773 wounded.

According to the head of the Eye on Humanity Center, the number of child martyrs reached 4,244 children, while 5,401 children were injured, in addition to the martyrdom of 2,543 women and the injury of 3,237 women.

He continued, “Regarding infrastructure, public objects, and facilities, the aggression targeted 15 airports, 16 seaports, and more than 488 electricity stations and generators, 716 telecommunication networks and stations, in addition to 3,577 water tanks and stations, and caused the destruction and damage of more than 622,354 homes, 475 hospitals and health facilities, and 1,487 schools and educational facilities.”

Regarding the economic and living sector, the aggression targeted 16,686 commercial facilities, 467 factories, 1,172 food stores, and 1,504 food transport trucks, and 14,231 agricultural fields and 581 fishing boats were destroyed.

Abu Hamra pointed out that the chronological and behavioral path of the siege imposed on Yemen reveals that there is a dangerous shift in the military and political doctrine of the coalition of aggression countries, as the siege was not merely a marginal measure or an incidental tool, but rather evolved through three consecutive stages that were integrated in their danger and effects.

He considered the crimes resulting from the siege and aggression, in their various stages, as crimes against humanity and war crimes that do not expire by statute of limitations… explaining that legal accountability and judicial prosecution of all those who caused them and ordered their commission represent an inescapable legal and moral duty.

The head of the Eye on Humanity Center held the international community, the US administration, and the coalition countries responsible for all the repercussions of the siege, and for the state of silence and blatant double standards in applying international justice standards.

He called on all media institutions, platforms, and independent human rights organizations to intensify their field and media efforts to highlight the humanitarian suffering of the Yemeni people, and to convey facts and events accurately, objectively, and neutrally.

In a statement issued by the press conference, the Eye on Humanity Center for Rights and Development announced its stance rejecting the continuation of the arbitrary siege imposed on Yemen, and its condemnation in the strongest terms of the ongoing Saudi aggression against the Republic of Yemen.

It affirmed that the continuous targeting of the Republic of Yemen, and the imposition of restrictions amounting to the level of a comprehensive siege on vital Yemeni ports, outlets, and airports, foremost among which are the port of Hodeidah and Sana’a International Airport, represents a flagrant and grave violation of the rules and principles of international law, foremost among which are the United Nations Charter and international humanitarian law.

The statement added, “With the continuation of the unlawful aggression and unjustified siege, in flagrant violation of the rules of international law, the Center affirms that the Republic of Yemen and its people have the inherent and legitimate right to defend its sovereignty, territory, and people by all available means guaranteed under Article (51) of the United Nations Charter, which recognizes the natural right of states to self-defense to face any armed attack.”

It renewed the emphasis that the continuation of the aggression and siege, and the targeting of ports and airports, foremost among which are Sana’a International Airport and the port of Hodeidah, gives the Yemeni people and their state full legal, political, and moral right to take all necessary measures, procedures, and strategic options, and to respond in kind to lift the siege and repel the aggression, in a manner that guarantees the protection of the Yemeni people’s capabilities and the restoration of their full rights.

The Eye on Humanity Center for Rights and Development held the countries of the Saudi-American-Israeli coalition of aggression fully responsible for the consequences resulting from the continuation of the aggression and siege… demanding that international organizations and free people of the world take serious action to press toward lifting the siege on Yemen entirely, stopping all forms of aggression, and holding accountable those responsible for grave violations against the Yemeni people.

It affirmed that a just and comprehensive peace cannot be achieved under the policies of aggression and siege imposed on Yemen, and that the Yemeni people, who possess the will and leadership, will not concede their guaranteed right to protect their sovereignty and independence.