General Debate Under Item 10: Technical assistance and capacity-building

Thank you,

This is a joint statement by International Organization for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (EAFORD) and Geneva International Centre for Justice (GICJ).

We wish to thank the High Commissioner for his update on Yemen. Our organisations remain deeply concerned about the dramatic worsening of the conditions on the ground, and moreover, by the failure of the international community to take effective measures in this regard.

Today, the escalation of the conflict has provoked an unprecedented humanitarian crisis in Yemen, only worsened by the famine and the shortage of food supplies. To date, more than 4 in 5 Yemenis need some type of humanitarian assistance, 28 million people are short of food, and 1 in 5 children are now underdeveloped because of chronic malnutrition. This is a result of the decimation of water and sanitation infrastructures during the conflict, the restrictions on imports which have caused a water and fuel shortage, and the extremely limited access to health care and functioning hospitals.

Furthermore, Iran, which was accused of initiating the conflict by arming and funding al-Houthi militias, still remains deeply involved in Yemen, and is hindering the achievement of peaceful settlements. The international community must take all the necessary measures to stop such an illegal interference.

Finally, we believe it is important to enhance the effectiveness of the existing human rights monitoring mechanisms in Yemen, and we urge all Member States to take action to alleviate the civilians’ suffering.

Thank you