On 19 March, ADHRB has delivered an oral intervention at the United Nation Human Rights Council session 46 during interactive debate under item 9.
We draw the Council’s attention to the restrictions on mobility occurring in Yemen by the Saudi led Coalition, and the arbitrary detentions that involve discrimination based on religious sect or political affiliation.
The Saudi Coalition mistreats Yemeni travelers coming from the northern parts of Yemen by rejecting passports issued from Sana’a and by issuing restrictions on mobility. Only one land passage, called el-Wadeea, and two airports in Aden and Sayun are offered. Ultimately, travelers are forced to brave hundreds of kilometers to reach these destinations; in the end, they are stuck waiting for days at terminals and some are even detained because of their regional and sectarian affiliation. This was the case of scholar Yahya al-Dailami who was released after a 13- month detention without cause, and Dr. Mustafa al-Mutawakkil who has been detained since April 2017, as well as other journalists, students and merchants.
Moreover, the de facto authorities in Sana’a have been arbitrarily detaining people for over a year without formal charges, the provision of a lawyer, a family visit or call or an opportunity to be heard in a fair, speedy trial. While we welcome the release of Professor Hamid Aqlan, the President of the University of Science and Technology in Yemen, we call on the de facto authority to afford him and all others arbitrarily detained their due process rights protected by the Constitution of the Republic of Yemen..
We call on all parties to the war on Yemen to end arbitrary detentions and ultimately end the war.
Thank you.
