U.N. Excessive Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Tuesday strongly condemned the assault by Houthi Ansar Allah on the places of work of the Human Rights Fee in Sanaa earlier this month.
The United Nations mentioned in a press release on Tuesday that on August 3, 2024, the de facto authorities of Ansar Allah despatched a “mission” to the workplace of the Human Rights Fee in Sana’a, forcing native workers handy over property, together with paperwork, furnishings and autos, and The important thing to the workplace, which nonetheless controls the workplace to this present day.
“The unauthorized entry into United Nations places of work and the forcible seizure of paperwork and property are in full violation of the Conference on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations and represent a severe violation of the United Nations’ skill to hold out its tasks, together with within the promotion and safety of human rights,” The assertion quoted Turk as saying.
Turk known as on the Houthi authorities to right away depart the constructing, return all belongings and property and “respect the United Nations and its independence,” and reiterated his name for the speedy and unconditional launch of all United Nations workers detained in Yemen.
The assertion recalled that from June 6 to 7, authorities in Sana’a detained 13 United Nations workers, together with six workers of the Workplace of the Excessive Commissioner for Human Rights, along with greater than 50 workers of varied non-governmental organizations and one individual .
It has additionally detained two different OHCHR workers since November 2021 and August 2023, in addition to two different UN workers who had been detained earlier. All are being held in solitary confinement with no human contact, the assertion mentioned.
On June 10, Ansar Allah introduced “the arrest of an American-Israeli espionage community straight linked to the CIA”.
One among two workers beforehand detained by the Ansar Allah group appeared in a video posted on-line and admitted to expenses together with espionage. Turk denied the accusations and mentioned “all of those accusations are baseless.”
Following the arrests in June, the Excessive Commissioner determined to briefly droop the Workplace’s operations in Sana’a and different areas beneath Houthi management because of the safety state of affairs, however the Workplace continued its work in different elements of Yemen.
