The National Committee to Investigate Alleged Violations of Human Rights in Yemen said yesterday that it has filed 3,000 cases against perpetrators of crimes against humanity in order to bring them to trial.

The announcement came during a seminar held by the Committee at the Coral Hotel in Khormaksar, in Yemen’s Aden province, during which the working papers were presented to the Supreme Judicial Council, the Public Prosecution Office, civil society and the Bar Association.

Deputy Minister of Human Rights, Samir Al-Shaibani, senior judges of the Supreme Court, judges from the Attorney General’s Office, representatives of civil society organisations, the Bar Association and academics also attended the seminar.

In an interview with Anadolu Agency, the head of the Committee Judge Ahmed Said Al-Muflehi said that his committee “filed 3,000 cases against perpetrators of crimes against humanity in order to bring them to trial.” Al-Muflehi pointed out that “the challenges facing the perpetrators’ prosecution, the ways to begin the actual trial process and guaranteeing the rights of the victims were discussed during the seminar.”

Committee spokeswoman Ishraq Al-Maqtari also told Anadolu that the main task of the Committee was to “collect and preserve evidence of violations against persons or entities and to establish criminal responsibility, in accordance with international law and human rights law.”

Al-Maqtari added: “We were keen to submit the files because we believe that holding the perpetrators of these violations accountable is the basis for ensuring that violations are reduced and not repeated.”

She pointed out that the investigation was being carried out in accordance with the principles and standards in force in similar international and regional committees.

The political conflict in Yemen – which has been ongoing since 2011 – combined with the civil war in the country since 2015 have resulted in hundreds of thousands of violations and crimes by the warring parties, in addition to the displacement of millions of people and the spread of famine and diseases.

AFP.