The 60th Session of the Human Rights Council UN Member States Must Reinvigorate Efforts to Protect Civilians and Uphold International Law in Yemen

September 8, 2025
2:29 pm

The 60th Session of the Human Rights Council UN Member States Must Reinvigorate Efforts to Protect Civilians and Uphold International Law in Yemen

8 September 2025

Your Excellencies,

As the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) prepares to convene its 60th session, we, Yemeni and international civil society organizations, write to urge you and your government to take decisive action to protect human rights victims and uphold international law in Yemen. For far too long, the HRC’s response to the ongoing human rights and humanitarian crisis in Yemen has been characterized by silence and complacency.

Despite a deteriorating human rights situation in the country, the current item 10 HRC resolution on ‘Technical assistance and capacity-building for Yemen in the field of human rights,’ presented annually by the Arab Group, does not request full monitoring and reporting to the HRC and does not provide for an annual interactive dialogue to discuss the situation.

We call on states at the upcoming HRC session to deliver a joint statement that:

Condemns grave and widespread human rights violations in Yemen;
Draws attention to the deepening humanitarian crisis; and
Recognizes the need for accountability for those responsible for international crimes, including war crimes.

Similar joint statements on Yemen have been delivered previously at both the HRC and the General Assembly. As there is unfortunately no interactive dialogue on Yemen at HRC60, such a statement should be delivered under the Item 2, Item 4, or Item 10 general debates.

UN member states should also urge that the Item 10 resolution on Yemen, be strengthened. This includes requesting the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to undertake monitoring and reporting to the HRC and ensuring any reports mandated by the resolution are presented in the context of an interactive dialogue. These modest proposals have been rejected in previous negotiations by the resolution’s core group, despite broad support from states across regions. If ignored again, states should consider introducing an amendment during the voting process to ensure this critical function, which is a common feature of item 10 resolutions, is maintained.

With the conflict in Yemen now entering its eleventh year and civil society repression increasing throughout the country, member states must seize this critical opportunity to address ongoing human rights violations. Tens of millions of Yemenis face threats to their lives and well-being due to a protracted conflict and humanitarian crisis that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and left countless others in urgent need. Yet the root causes—driven by a culture of impunity—remain unaddressed, allowing the cycle of violations to persist without end.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the people of Yemen currently face a deepening humanitarian crisis. Yemen is now one of the most food-insecure countries in the world. Nearly 20 million people—more than half the population, require humanitarian assistance, with women and girls, internally displaced persons, people with disabilities, migrants, and refugees among the most affected. Millions have been denied life-saving support due to funding cuts and ongoing restrictions and attacks on humanitarian workers and activities.

All parties to the conflict, including the Houthi de facto authorities, the Southern Transitional Council, and the internationally recognized government of Yemen, continue to commit rights violations in areas under their control. The Houthis continue campaigns against UN and civil society staff and civilians, including arbitrary arrests and detentions, intimidation, and restrictions on movement and operations. These actions obstruct humanitarian access, impede aid delivery, and create an atmosphere of fear that limits the ability of independent organizations to monitor and report on violations. Authorities in the South regularly violate rights to freedom of speech and assembly, including through protest bans. Such measures reflect an increasingly repressive environment across Yemen.

This “man-made” catastrophe clearly requires international monitoring and reporting of the situation and for UN member states to stand up for victims of human rights violations and defend the application of international law in Yemen. Action by your government at the upcoming HRC session can contribute to saving lives, ensuring the release of those arbitrarily detained, protecting women and girls, safeguarding human rights defenders, civil society activists, and journalists, and laying the groundwork for lasting peace.

Signatories: