Yemen-Born Woman in Exile Calls for Independent UN Investigation Into Yemen Abuses
Geneva | Paris Telegraph 06/10/2026
A Yemen-born woman living in exile has called on the United Nations Human Rights Council to move beyond technical assistance and establish an independent international mechanism to investigate serious human rights violations in Yemen.
Speaking during the 63rd session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Noora Al-Jarwi, representing the Association Ma’onah for Human Rights and Immigration (AMHRI), warned that the international response to Yemen risks leaving victims without meaningful accountability.
Her intervention came during the Council’s Item 10 general debate on technical assistance and capacity-building, on 5 October 2026.
A call for accountability
Al-Jarwi criticised the current Arab draft resolution on Yemen, submitted by Iraq, arguing that it continues what she described as a longstanding weakness in the UN response: concentrating on technical assistance while failing to close the investigation and accountability gap.
According to the statement, the draft acknowledges serious violations committed by different parties to the conflict, as well as regional security concerns, including threats affecting neighbouring states and navigation in the Red Sea.
But Al-Jarwi argued that recognising the regional nature of the conflict must be accompanied by an investigative mechanism capable of examining responsibility beyond Yemen’s national institutions.
“This is the central contradiction,” the statement said, pointing to the gap between acknowledging the regional dimensions of the conflict and limiting the response to support for a national commission.
National commission cannot replace international investigation
AMHRI said strengthening Yemen’s National Commission remains important, but argued that additional resources alone cannot overcome difficulties in accessing areas, information and evidence controlled by parties that do not cooperate with investigations.
The organisation also stressed that a national mechanism does not have the mandate required to examine possible regional responsibility and chains of command.
Al-Jarwi therefore called for an independent and impartial United Nations investigative mechanism covering all parties without selectivity.
Investigation dating back to 2011
The statement calls on UN Member States to amend the draft resolution and establish an international mechanism with a broad mandate.
According to AMHRI, such a mechanism should investigate violations committed since 2011, collect and preserve evidence, protect victims and witnesses, identify those responsible and support pathways towards justice.
The organisation also urged the Human Rights Council to address Yemen under Item 2, arguing that the gravity of the situation and its regional dimensions require a stronger international response.
For Yemenis who have been forced into exile, the demand for accountability carries a particularly personal dimension. Al-Jarwi’s intervention placed the concerns of victims and displaced Yemenis within a wider appeal for an international process capable of examining violations regardless of which party is responsible.
The statement concluded with a direct message to the Council: victims need an independent UN investigation and meaningful justice rather than another response that leaves impunity unresolved.
Paris Telegraph Geneva Correspondent
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