Statement issued by Yemen Center for Human Rights on the occasion of the ninth anniversary of the start of the Saudi-American coalition aggression on Yemen

On March 26, 2015, following the initial airstrikes on a residential neighborhood in the capital city of Sana’a, the formation of a coalition of aggression against Yemen led by Saudi Arabia was announced from Washington. It later became apparent that the coalition included several Arabian countries and enjoyed overt support from the United States, Britain, and other nations. These initial airstrikes were followed by hundreds of thousands of airstrikes, ground attacks, and naval operations carried out by these countries against the country of Yemen and its people without prior warning.

On the ninth anniversary of the crime of aggression and its subsequent crimes, according to preliminary statistics from Yemen Center for Human Rights, the number of civilian casualties caused by the countries of the coalition of aggression against Yemen from March 2015 to March 2024 has reached (44.707). Among them, there were (18.345) fatalities, including (3.127) women and (4.171) children. Additionally, the number of injured individuals reached (26.362), including (3.622) women and (4.327) children.

These statistics are not just numbers, because behind every number, there is a story, dreams, wishes, and tales that perished with their owners, were trapped with them, or buried under rubble and debris. Over the past nine years since the crime of aggression committed by the coalition of aggression against Yemen, various actions and practices that fall within the most serious crimes according to the classification of international humanitarian law treaties have been carried out. These include crimes against humanity, genocide, and war crimes, all of which have resulted in thousands of civilian casualties, including fatalities and injuries.

The coalition of aggression repeatedly and extensively targeted civilians in popular markets, mosques, and places designated for festive occasions, such as weddings and funeral gatherings, along with other social events. Some of these attacks resulted in horrifying massacres and represented the most heinous forms of mass killings. Prohibited weapons were also employed in a number of these attacks against civilians, and the coalition of aggression has repeatedly used banned arms and shells causing severe damages and immense suffering. Additionally, the blockade imposed by the countries of coalition of aggression on Yemen has led to economic losses that have exacerbated the humanitarian situation and affected all segments of Yemeni society.

During these nine years, Yemen Center for Human Rights has been working on a daily base on monitoring and documenting the crimes of aggression through field monitoring teams and issued them in multiple reports and studies, the most prominent and significant of which are the report titled ‘And If Yemen is Asked?!’, released in 2023, and the study ‘The Security Council & the Aggression on Yemen (Airstrikes & Resolutions)’, published in 2022. These reports and studies have affirmed, clarified, and documented that the deliberate targeting of civilians and their gatherings was a repeated and systematic practice by the coalition of aggression. The monitoring teams’ reports have clarified that the coalition countries have committed the crime of aggression, deliberate killings stipulated in national laws, and acts of genocide outlined in various international humanitarian law conventions and treaties through the documented statistics and details in these reports about the civilian victims, the majority of whom are women and children.

As we, Yemen Center for Human Rights, strongly condemn the ongoing aggression, blockade, and all crimes and violations committed against our country, we also emphasize the following points:

1. We call on the Security Council to criminalize the aggression of the coalition and the imposed blockade since 2015, and to issue an immediate resolution to halt them.
2. We urge the Security Council to compel the coalition countries of aggression to swiftly implement the Stockholm Agreement regarding captives and end their suffering.
3. We call on the Security Council to establish an independent international committee to investigate the facts regarding the crime of aggression against Yemen and all the crimes committed by the coalition of aggression against Yemen and its people.
4. We call on the Security Council to obligate the coalition countries of aggression to compensate for all the direct and indirect crimes suffered by the Yemeni people.
5. We call on the United Nations and its affiliated organizations to work transparently and realistically in response to the humanitarian needs of the Yemeni people and to direct support towards effectively alleviating the burden of aggression.
6. We call on the Supreme Political Council to establish a committee or a higher council to monitor, document, and investigate the crimes of the coalition of aggression against Yemen, as well as to address violations against human rights and international humanitarian law.
7. We call on the Supreme Political Council to compel judicial, prosecutorial, and legal authorities to expedite the resolution of all crimes and violations committed by the coalition of aggression against Yemen and to issue judgments in accordance with national law and in line with the principles of international law and international humanitarian law.
8. We call on the free people of the world to continue their campaigns, protests, marches, and activities in support of the Yemeni people as they face injustice.

Issued by

Yemen Center for Human Rights

Monday, 15th of Ramadan, 1445 AH, corresponding to March 25, 2023 AD.