Najm Abdulkarim 
The National Committee for Investigation of Human Rights allegations remains; Which was formed by a decision of the Yemeni President and recommendations from the UN Security Council and the UN Human Rights Council, which is fighting a human rights and humanitarian conflict in Yemen, seeking to show the truth and protect the rights of the Yemeni people who are exposed to the worst types of violations.
“Okaz” met the head of the National Committee for the Investigation of Human Rights allegations, Judge Ahmed Al -Muflihi, and held an expanded dialogue with him on the situation in Yemen, during which he revealed the committee’s 12 reports that included the human rights situation, activities and work of the committee.
Al -Muflihi disclosed that 2167 Houthi violations were monitored during the year 2024, the number of its victims reached 12895 civilians between the dead and wounded, and the displacement of 10,140 people, accusing Al -Houthi of employing the judiciary to cover up the violations of his followers.
The head of the National Committee noted the Saudi efforts in Yemen and the role of Saudi projects and programs in saving the Yemeni people, stressing that the generous Saudi support is behind the stability of the situation.
And to the details of the dialogue:
A prominent Saudi role to support Yemen
How do you evaluate the reality of human rights in Yemen amid a Houthi escalation against civilians?
•• I would like to express my sincere thanks for the efforts made by the newspaper “Okaz” in providing distinguished media content, its interest and comprehensive coverage of human rights issues and the humanitarian situation in Yemen; What contributes to providing legal, legal and human awareness, and has proven that it is not just a news platform, but rather a voice defending human values and social justice through its follow -up that highlights the challenges facing individuals and societies.
It goes without emphasizing the prominent role that Saudi Arabia provides and its generous support for the stability of the situation and its support for the Yemeni economy, and the reconstruction; Represented by the Saudi Reconstruction Program, in addition to many development, service and humanitarian projects through the King Salman Center.
The humanitarian situation and human rights are negatively and affected by the conditions in which Yemen is going through; Military, security, economic and political, and during this year international and regional efforts continued to work on the possibility of a humanitarian political settlement that ends the conflict in Yemen; Among these efforts are Saudi mediation, Omani. However, the recent tensions in Bab al -Mandab and the Red Sea led to the freezing of peace talks with the continuation of the free truce period in Yemen, and during this period, Yemen witnessed a number of attacks, sometimes reaching the point of engagement in some areas and targeting civilians through flying and mortars by the Houthi militia, which led to the fall of a number of civilian victims, most of whom are children and women, as others are exposed to the roads and areas of agricultural areas Because of the explosion of mines and war remnants, I do not hide that Al -Houthi employed the judiciary to cover up the violations committed by his followers and to issue penalties against civilians accusing them of not loyalty to him, and the penalties may reach death, as well as the practice of enforced disappearance, torture and home detonation.
12895 victims within a year
• Can you explain to us the numbers of Houthi violations?
•• The National Committee was able to monitor, document and investigate the allegations of human rights violations committed by all parties; Including Al -Houthi in all governorates of Yemen during the year 2024 AD, 2167 violations, and the number of victims reached 12895 civilian victims; Among them is 564 incidents of targeting civilians, in which 657 victims have killed and wounded; Among them are 214 people, including 27 children and 6 women, and 433 wounded; Among them are 74 children and 52 women, and the committee has finished investigating the usual mines cultivation methodology for individuals and explosive devices that led to explosions and 196 victims of death and wounded, including 40 children and 11 women, and this violation is unique to the militia.
• What about arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearance?
•• Arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance were completed in 624 victims, and about 19 incidents of targeting of cultural, historical and religious notables were investigated, and we achieved in 506 incidents of assault and destruction of public and private property, and 16 incidents of schools and educational institutes and workers in them. And what is related to recruitment, we have achieved the recruitment of 186 children under the age of 15, and we also confirmed 14 houses bombing, and documenting the displacement of 10,140 victims, most of whom were forced displacement in about 128 incidents that occurred during the year 2024 in various places of Houthi -controlled areas.
We finished investigating 81 victims of outside law killing during 2024, and we conducted interviews during the same year with more than 6169 terms, witnesses and a victim, and the committee was able to inform and examine more than 5766 documents, analyze and preserve them in the committee archive.
Securing victims and witnesses and preparing the judiciary
• Why did you not escalate these files to the International Criminal Court, and are demanding the trial of perpetrators?
•• The National Committee is not a governmental organization, but it is an independent national committee established under a presidential decree and by a decision of the Human Rights Council; Which stipulated the continued provision of technical and technical support and raising the capabilities of the National Committee, and gave us the state to monitor and investigate violations, and we work independently and impartially with all parties to the conflict; Including the legitimate government as one of the parties to the internal conflict, and the violations committed by it were monitored and documented.
The construction decision includes the delivery of periodic reports to the work of the National Committee to the President of the Republic and the Chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council, and the work of the National Committee is referred to the Public Prosecutor’s Office to complete the investigation procedures, and here we find that the Yemeni judiciary is concerned with these cases.
The cases that were monitored and investigated exceeded 31 thousand violations, and this requires that the judiciary be rehabilitated regarding human rights issues; Because it differs from regular criminal cases, and the perpetrators of these violations are still carrying weapons and controlling reality.
Conducting trials with these security conditions and the continuation of the war may endanger witnesses and victims, and rather there will be fair and fair procedures until after the end of the war, and the existence of a clear mechanism to protect victims and witnesses, which achieves the purpose of trial procedures, and here the victims and witnesses must be secured and the judiciary is prepared in terms of qualification and protection, and the international judiciary is not specialized in considering such cases, and this number can not consider The big one that exceeds 31 thousand violations.
• What are the most prominent challenges facing you?
•• There are challenges and difficulties that the committee faced in its work as a result of the continuation of the security and military conditions that are witnessing it, the deterioration of conditions and services and their lack of; As electricity and communications, the difficulty of transportation as a result of cutting some major roads by Houthi, and the multiplicity of security services in various regions of Yemen, and during this year many international agencies and civil society organizations were closed, especially in the areas of Houthi control; This affected the work of strengthening and protecting human rights, the humanitarian situation, reaching the victims and working in the affected areas.
Among the most important of these challenges, the continuous violations and violations of the armistice, the continuation of violence, targeting civilians and mine cultivation, disabilities of the arrival of humanitarian aid and disrupting legal institutions, and the consequent lack of approval of Yemen on a number of international human rights covenants, and issuing modern leaks that contribute to reducing violations, as well Claims and violations attributed to those affiliated with them, fear by some groups of victims and their refrain from reporting due to the arrest campaigns and the suppression of freedoms, the privacy of some violations and the difficulty of providing legal legal legal evidence regarding them, especially violence against women and children.
As for the challenges with international organizations and agencies, the failure of the High Commissioner to implement the Human Rights Council’s decision during the year 2024; Which stipulates the provision of technical and technical support and the lifting of capabilities for the teams of the National Committee, and this was presented to the donor countries and the discussion was discussed in the September 2024 session, but despite all these challenges and difficulties the committee was able to perform its work, and thanks to the belief of the committee’s crews we exceeded all the challenges and difficulties, and most of the violations in various regions of Yemen were monitored, documented and achieved.
• What about the most prominent Houthi violations?
•• Al -Houthi practices all kinds of violations and there are informal prisons, in which secondary standards and conditions stipulated in the Prison Interest Law are not taken into account, and international and local organizations and journalists were not allowed to go to these prisons, as well as the use of criminal judiciary towards opponents and the issuance of a number of judgments between execution and imprisonment towards a number of their opponents, as well as journalists and activists, and a number of private housing were confiscated. With opponents.
“Pores” saved the lives of the thousands
• How do you see the role of the Saudi “pore” project, and the mines that it extracted?
•• «pores» is considered one of the most important humanitarian projects in Yemen; It contributes to saving the lives of thousands of Yemenis in the regions and governorates in which the mines resulting from the war are grown; Which has lost many children, women and men their lives or caused them a permanent disability, and we have seen and monitored a lot of violations related to this aspect; The fact that our work is related to allocating all violations, including those affected by mines of all kinds.
For many years, the project has contributed to preventing many mine -related crimes in various regions and governorates from which mines were extracted by a specialized team. And every time we hear about the extension of the project and the coverage of other regions, all thanks to these efforts made from the Saudi pores project and those in charge of it and everyone who contributes to rid and save the lives of people.
“Pores”
One of the most important humanitarian projects in Yemen
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