الإخفاء القسري في اليمن: استراتيجية ترهيب تتفاقم بلا رادع

&nbsp;&nbsp;Author: Mansour al-Omari*&nbsp;“I even searched for my son in the morgues. I had to see the faces of the dead in order to know his fate.”- A mother whose son was forcibly disappeared in Yemen in 2016. (1)&nbsp;The warring parties in Yemen, including Houthi forces, the Yemeni government, the UAE,(2) &nbsp;Saudi Arabia,(3) &nbsp;and several Yemeni armed groups supported by the UAE and Saudi Arabia, have committed enforced disappearances.(4) &nbsp;Estimates from various local and international human rights groups of the number of victims of enforced disappearances in Yemen since the outbreak of the conflict in 2014 range from hundreds to thousands. In 2024, Yemeni organization "Mwatana for Human Rights" reported that it had documented 1806 cases of enforced disappearance since the outbreak of the conflict in Yemen until the end of July 2024. A year earlier, in a statement issued by local and international human rights groups in 2023,(5) &nbsp;Mwatana reported that since 2015, Houthi forces had been responsible for 596 cases, Yemeni government forces for 223 cases, Saudi-led coalition forces for 38 cases, Transitional Council forces for 349 cases, Hadrami Elite forces for 28 cases, Joint Forces in the Western coast for 15 cases, and the Giants Forces and Shabwa Defense Forces for 9 cases, and that there are likely to be cases that Mwatana was unable to document.Bonyan Jamal, director of Yemeni Archive, an organization specialized in open-source investigations, says: "Over the past six months, there have been two violent campaigns of disappearances, one targeting civil society and workers in organizations, and the other targeting young people, activists, and female activists who are still missing to this day. There have also been cases of disappearance in Al-Falj in Marib, such as the case of Dr. Mustafa al-Mutawakkil, and cases of disappearance in Aden and Abyan. These cases have shocked Yemeni society and eroded trust in the state. Even many Yemeni migrants are afraid to return to visit their families for fear of being subjected to enforced disappearance."In its 2020 report, the "Group of Eminent International and Regional Experts on Yemen" found "reasonable grounds to believe that parties to the conflict continue to be involved in cases of enforced disappearance...Such acts may also constitute war crimes."(6)&nbsp;The parties to the conflict in Yemen systematically use the crime of enforced disappearance against individuals and segments of society, such as the Houthi's disappearance of Baha'is.(7)&nbsp;&nbsp; Yemenis are subjected to arbitrary arrest or kidnapping and then enforced disappearance because of their political opinions or religious affiliations, or the nature of their work(8)&nbsp; &nbsp;such as journalists, human rights defenders, and aid workers,(9)&nbsp;&nbsp; including civil society and international organization staff.(10)&nbsp;The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, adopted in 23 December 2010,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/international-convention-protection-all-persons-enforced">defines</a> enforced disappearance as: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;the arrest, detention, abduction or any other form of deprivation of liberty by agents of the State or by persons or groups of persons acting with the authorization, support or acquiescence of the State, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or by concealment of the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person, which place such a person outside the protection of the law.&nbsp;The Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, proclaimed by the General Assembly in its Resolution 47/133 of 18 December 1992,also describes enforced disappearance as a crime against humanity, contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, and a grave violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and reaffirmed and elaborated upon in the international instruments concerned.Yemen is not a party to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, and although Yemeni law does not explicitly criminalize enforced disappearance, Article 6 of the Yemeni Constitution "affirms adherence to the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the generally recognized principles of international law." The Yemeni Constitution also guarantees in Articles 48 and 49 fundamental rights for individuals that conflict with the practices and elements of enforced disappearance. Article 48 (d) of the Yemeni Constitution stipulates that "when any person is arrested for any reason, he/she must be immediately notified of the person chosen by the arrested person, as must be done when any judicial order is issued to continue detention. If the arrested person is unable to choose, his relatives or those concerned must be notified." Article 49 also stipulates that "the right to defense in person or by proxy is guaranteed at all stages of the investigation and proceedings and before all courts in accordance with the provisions of the law, and the state guarantees legal aid to the indigent in accordance with the law."The practice of enforced disappearance violates a range of rights enshrined in international treaties and instruments to which Yemen is a party, such as the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. All parties to the conflict, including states and groups, are also obliged to respect international human rights law.The crime of enforced disappearance is not limited to imposing anonymity on the victim's location and deprivation of the right to communicate with family and lawyers, but rather violates a range of human rights and rights enshrined in UN instruments concerned,(11)&nbsp;&nbsp; including:<ul><li>The right of the individual to recognition as a person before the law (Article 6 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights),</li><li>The right of everyone to liberty and security of person (Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights),</li><li>The right to be free from torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment),&nbsp;</li><li>The right to life (Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights),</li><li>The right to identity (several international covenants and declarations).</li><li>The right to a fair trial and to judicial guarantees (Article 8 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights),</li><li>The right to an effective remedy, including restitution and compensation,</li><li>The right to know the truth about the circumstances of the disappearance, and</li><li>The right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion (International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, Article 5/7).</li></ul>Enforced disappearance also violates the economic, social and cultural rights of victims and their families alike, including the right to the protection and assistance of the family, the right to an adequate standard of living, the right to health, and the right to education. &nbsp;&nbsp;Despite repeated calls by Yemeni civil society organizations and local and international civil society groups for justice for victims of enforced disappearance, and their affirmation that "enforced disappearance in Yemen is a direct result of impunity,"(12) &nbsp;there is still no domestic or international accountability for perpetrators or redress for victims and their families.The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance stipulates that no one shall be subjected to enforced disappearance, and that no exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of enforced disappearance. Nor may any order or instruction from any public authority, military or civilian, be invoked as a justification of enforced disappearance, and it shall be the duty of any person who receives such an order or instruction not to obey it. &nbsp;&nbsp;Under the principle of command responsibility, a superior or commander may be criminally responsible if he knew or ought to have known that one of his subordinates acting under his effective command and control was committing or was about to commit a crime of enforced disappearance and did not take all necessary and reasonable measures within his power to prevent such a crime or to submit the matter to the competent authorities for investigation and prosecution.Those responsible for enforced disappearances in Yemen must be held accountable, and victims of enforced disappearance and their families must be compensated and have the right to adequate reparation, including measures aimed at their full rehabilitation. In the event of the death of a person as a result of enforced disappearance, his or her family shall also be entitled to compensation.Yemeni civil society organizations and international organizations are calling for the inclusion of the issue of the disappeared in the priorities of negotiations to end the crisis, and that any transitional process include the formation of a national committee to search for them and address their situation and the situation of their families, and that until that happens, the United Nations Human Rights Council should establish an international commission of inquiry to ensure that evidence is not lost and that cases are preserved for use in future justice opportunities.(13)&nbsp;On 15 January 2025, the first&nbsp;<a href="https://www.edworldcongress.org/">World Congress on Enforced Disappearance</a> will be held in Geneva to enhance global efforts to combat enforced disappearances by bringing key actors together and aims to foster collective action. The conference, held nearly 20 years after the adoption of the Convention, aims to create an opportunity for concrete and ambitious commitments to eradicate enforced disappearance everywhere in the world, putting the voices of the victims at the core of the strategy.The World Congress is co-organized by CEDI, the United Nations Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED), the United Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID), and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).The participation of Yemeni civil society in this and future Congresses will be positive and significant contribution to global efforts to combat enforced disappearances and promote accountability for perpetrators. It also aligns with the Congress’s goals of putting the voices of the victims at the core of the strategy and advocating for Yemen to sign and ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. In parallel, there should be efforts to encourage Yemen to sign all international conventions that protect the Yemeni people from the grave crimes they face at the hands of their governments or other parties to the conflict.&nbsp;*&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/MansourOmari">Mansour al-Omari:</a> A human rights defender and legal researcher. He holds a master's degree in law, specializing in transitional justice and conflict. Al-Omari works with international and Syrian human rights organizations to hold perpetrators of international crimes in Syria accountable. In 2012, al-Omari was arrested and tortured by the Syrian government for 356 days for documenting their atrocities while working with the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression as the supervisor of the detainees' documentation office.<ul><li>1&nbsp;&nbsp;Crimes of Enforced Disappearance, Mwatana for Human Rights, 30 August 2024,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mwatana.org/reports-en/crimes-of-enforced-disappearance">https://www.mwatana.org/reports-en/crimes-of-enforced-disappearance</a> (accessed 29 October 2024).&nbsp;</li><li>2&nbsp;&nbsp;Yemen: ‘God only knows If he’s alive’: Enforced disappearance and detention violations in southern Yemen, Amnesty International 11 July 2018,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde31/8682/2018/en/">https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde31/8682/2018/en/</a> (accessed 29 October 2024).</li><li>3&nbsp;&nbsp;Yemen: Saudi Forces Torture, ‘Disappear’ Yemenis, Human Rights Watch 25 March 2020,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/03/25/yemen-saudi-forces-torture-disappear-yemenis">https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/03/25/yemen-saudi-forces-torture-disappear-yemenis</a> (accessed 29 October 2024).</li><li>4&nbsp;&nbsp;Disappearances in Yemen, Human Rights Watch (nd),&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hrw.org/tag/disappearances-yemen">https://www.hrw.org/tag/disappearances-yemen</a> (accessed 29 October 2024).</li><li>5&nbsp;&nbsp;Yemen: Parties to the Conflict Should Immediately Release All Those Arbitrarily Detained and Reveal the Fate of Those Forcibly Disappeared Since the Beginning of the Armed Conflict in Yemen in 2014, Amnesty International 17 April 2023,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde31/6691/2023/en/">https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde31/6691/2023/en/</a> (accessed 29 October 2024).</li><li>6&nbsp;&nbsp;Situation of human rights in Yemen, including violations and abuses since September 2014, Report of the Group of Eminent International and Regional Experts on Yemen, A/HRC/45/6.</li><li>7&nbsp;&nbsp;Yemen: Houthis Forcibly Disappear Baha’is, Human Rights Watch 30 May 2023,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/05/30/yemen-houthis-forcibly-disappear-bahais">https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/05/30/yemen-houthis-forcibly-disappear-bahais</a> (accessed 29 October 2024).</li><li>8&nbsp;&nbsp;Yemen: Released and exiled: Torture, unfair trials and Forcible exile of Yemenis under Huthi Rule, Amnesty International 27 May 2021,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde31/3907/2021/en/">https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde31/3907/2021/en/</a> (accessed 29 October 2024).</li><li>9&nbsp;&nbsp;Joint statement – Detention of United Nations and Non-Governmental Organization Personnel in Yemen, UNDP in the Arab States 14 June 2024,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.undp.org/arab-states/speeches/joint-statement-detention-united-nations-and-non-governmental-organization-personnel-yemen">https://www.undp.org/arab-states/speeches/joint-statement-detention-united-nations-and-non-governmental-organization-personnel-yemen</a> (accessed 29 October 2024).</li><li>10&nbsp;&nbsp;Yemen’s Houthis Still Detaining UN, Civil Society Staff, Human Rights Watch 6 December 2024,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/12/06/yemens-houthis-still-detaining-un-civil-society-staff">https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/12/06/yemens-houthis-still-detaining-un-civil-society-staff</a> (accessed 29 October 2024).</li><li>11&nbsp;&nbsp;Enforced disappearance is a strategy of intimidation that violates 12 human rights, Enab Baladi, 1 September 2019,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.enabbaladi.net/324755/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%AE%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%A1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%B3%D8%B1%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AA%D9%8A%D8%AC%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%AA%D8%B1%D9%87%D9%8A%D8%A8-%D8%AA%D9%86%D8%AA%D9%87/">https://www.enabbaladi.net/324755/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%AE%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%A1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%B3%D8%B1%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AA%D9%8A%D8%AC%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%AA%D8%B1%D9%87%D9%8A%D8%A8-%D8%AA%D9%86%D8%AA%D9%87/</a> (accessed 29 October 2024).</li><li>12&nbsp;&nbsp;Enforced disappearances in Yemen as a direct result of impunity, Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies 30 August 2022,&nbsp;<a href="https://cihrs.org/enforced-disappearances-in-yemen-as-a-direct-result-of-impunity/?lang=en">https://cihrs.org/enforced-disappearances-in-yemen-as-a-direct-result-of-impunity/?lang=en</a> (accessed 3 November 2024).</li><li>13&nbsp;&nbsp;Invisible and Unheard: The Escalating Tragedy of Enforced Disappearances in Yemen, Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies 30 August 2024,&nbsp;<a href="https://cihrs.org/invisible-and-unheard-the-escalating-tragedy-of-enforced-disappearances-in-yemen/?lang=en">https://cihrs.org/invisible-and-unheard-the-escalating-tragedy-of-enforced-disappearances-in-yemen/?lang=en</a> (accessed 3 November 2024).</li></ul>&nbsp;

Enforced Disappearances in Yemen: An Escalating, Unchecked Strategy of Intimidation

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الإخفاء القسري في اليمن: استراتيجية ترهيب تتفاقم بلا رادع

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