Fire This Time interview with Kim Sharif, a Yemeni lawyer, Human Rights Campaigner, and Director of Human Rights for Yemen, based in London, England.
FTT: We saw last week that the Saudis, with their partner coalition, bombed Yemen and killed dozens of people while they were celebrating a wedding. Why do you think Saudi Arabia is continuing this killing of innocents in Yemen, knowing they haven’t gotten results or achieved their goal they declared three years ago?
Kim Sharif: The Saudis continue to commit horrific war crimes, specifically against civilians in Yemen because there has not been any accountability from the international community, which is fully aware of the number of serious war crimes being committed in Yemen against civilians that been going on for three years. They also know that there is no useful outcome from the continuation of this military campaign, yet they appear to be totally inactive in this regard. Instead of doing what is necessary legally to bring an end to the suffering of the people of Yemen, they are continuing to just “express concerns” without doing anything about it.
The reason for the continuation of this illegality by the Saudi-led coalition is that they have the support of the international community, as represented by the UN security council, which is dominated by three main countries and others who stand to benefit from the continuation of the suffering of the people of Yemen because they get to sell a lot of weapons and make a lot of money. At the same time, they get to have some kind of regional sort-of hand twisting and negotiating with each other about other issues.
The problem with what is going on is that this impunity sets a very negative precedent and makes it very clear that the UN is incapable of consistently, fairly and equally applying its rules as enshrined by the charter, as well by the various Geneva conventions that regulate this kind of situation that is happening in Yemen. The UN has failed Yemen miserably, although Yemen was one of the first members of the UN, which become a member in 1948, and it is sad and tragic to see that international law is being applied in this inconsistent, irregular way, which has the effect of indicating that there is some racism and colonial mentality being applied in relation to international law, specifically concerning third-world countries, and Yemen is one of them.
It is sad, it is tragic, and the situation is untenable. If anything, yes there is a lot of suffering Yemen, if anything, it does undermine the reputation and standing of the international community and specifically of the UN, as being honest and independent and an institution of integrity, that apply its rules of law consistently and properly and without any discrimination. So, the UN, and specifically its members in the UN Security Council and as well as the Human Rights Council, are in breach of international law themselves, and it can well be said that they might well be guilty of aiding and abetting various crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes. That is our experience about the UN’s handling of the situation in Yemen.
Of course, the Saudi-led coalition, who are ruthless, brutal dictators, who have no mercy on their own people, aren’t going to have any mercy about other people in their neighbourhood or elsewhere in the world. They are likely to continue as there is no one to stop them. There is no one to stop them. The international community has failed miserably and has shown itself to be willing partners to brutal dictators who supply terrorism to the world and are party to more serious war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in Yemen.
So, if anything, the greater loss is going to impact more seriously on the international community then actually the situation in Yemen. The humanitarian catastrophe is heart-breaking, it is very dire, it is man-made, and man that’s making it is the Saudi-led coalition as aided and abetted by members of the Security Council, and thus, in turn, the UN itself stands accused of aiding and abetting these crimes for failing to uphold the charter rights of the State of Yemen.
FTT: What do you think we can do as people around the world to help the people of Yemen and stop the war and bombing in Yemen?
Kim Sharif: To help the people of Yemen we must not stop our campaign in raising awareness about the suffering of civilians in Yemen. We must not stop in reaching out to lobby our politicians to demand that they restore some balance and integrity in the international community. Because this kind of development or movement is very dangerous for any country around the world because what is happening to Yemen today can happen to any country and impunity is something that the international community cannot afford to allow because it can affect everybody eventually.
We must organize demonstrations, we must write to our MP’s, we must support campaigners who work in the field of helping the people of Yemen. Moreover, we have advanced legal proceedings to hold accountable the Saudi-led coalition, and we would be grateful for any support by way of funding that we may receive from our brothers and sisters in Canada. Anyone who would like to assist our organization to continue its case against the Saudi-led coalition, please get in touch with us and we would be happy to give you our bank account details where you can make any donation to support our case.
If anybody and organizations in Canada themselves can advance cases like this, we would be grateful. However, under UK law we can prosecute war criminals who commit such crimes anywhere in the world. We are in need of funding for our case, we are progressing our case, we will not stop this case but we will grateful for any support that you may be able to give in relation to our case in court, or any of our other activities which include going to the Human Rights Council to lobby on behalf of the people of Yemen and hold conferences and events in London as well as hold photographic exhibition, issue publications, and do a lot of other work to help our brother and sisters in Yemen. Please let us know of anybody interested in helping us; we will be happy to provide you with our bank details, many thanks.
To contribute to the funding campaign contact:
www.humanrights4Yemen.com
Sharif.hrfy@gmail.com
0044-7575-033-909
Follow Azza Rojbi on Twitter: @Azza_R14
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