In a letter to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan, the Imam Sadegh (PB) University Human Rights and Citizenship Institute called for an investigation into the widespread crimes committed by the Arab League in Yemen.
The text of this letter, a copy of which was sent to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif, Ali Bagheri, Secretary of the High Council for Human Rights and Zohreh Elahian, Chairman of the Human Rights Committee to the Parliament, is as follows:
Mr. Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations
Dear Mr. Karim Khan, Honorable Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court
In March 2015, Saudi Arabia launched a military offensive against Yemen as part of a coalition of Arab countries including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain, along with Morocco, Egypt, Jordan and Sudan. At least 41,125 civilians have been killed and 7,0207 wounded since coalition airstrikes hit Yemen, according to international sources.
Saudi Arabia and its allies have besieged Yemen's airspace and sea and do not allow humanitarian aid from countries and international organizations to be sent to the Yemeni people. The report considers the ban on aid to Yemen to be in clear violation of international law and international treaties.
According to Article 5 of the Rome Statute, the International Criminal Court deals with four groups of crimes committed by individuals, described as "the most serious crimes committed by the international community as a whole" of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and rape. According to this article, we call on the International Criminal Court to investigate the widespread crimes against Yemen as soon as possible and to announce the end of this inhuman and illegal attack.
In this conflict, which has become a full-blown international conflict with the entry of Saudi-led coalition countries, international humanitarian law rules must be enforced as international rules during armed conflicts by governments to protect civilians and property. Be.
Now, the main question in the present indictment is how to implement and guarantee international humanitarian rights by coalition forces in the Yemeni armed conflict. To this end, in this indictment, while briefly explaining the principles of international humanitarian law as the main framework of the discussion, the military actions of the adversaries in Yemen will be examined on the basis of documented reports by specialized governmental and non-governmental organizations.
1- Prohibition of the use of force
Article 2(4) of the UN Charter prohibits states from threatening to use force. To some extent, the attitude of states towards the prohibition of the use of force is different from their attitude towards the prohibition of the use of force.
The illegality of the threat of force can be explained by the 1907 Hague Peace Conference, and especially after the entry into force of the UN Charter. Today, no threat of force or even the expiration of an argument issued in accordance with the Third Hague Convention will be lawful unless it is compatible with the customary provisions of the United Nations Charter on the Law of Force.
2- Ban on using prohibited weapons
Prohibition of the use of weapons and weapons of war that may cause unnecessary suffering (Article 23 of the Hague Regulations), Prohibition of unnecessary destruction of property (same article), the principle that even attacks on military targets in the event of severe civilian casualties or damage to civilian targets Is prohibited (Article B of the First Additional Protocol).
3- Prohibition of Occupation
In 1974, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted Resolution 3314, entitled "Resolution Defining Aggression". In this resolution, aggression is the use of force by one State against the sovereignty or territorial integrity or political independence of another State or in any other manner incompatible with the purposes of the United Nations.
According to Article 1 of this resolution, aggression is the use of force by a state against the sovereignty, territorial integrity or political independence of another state or its use in other ways contrary to the Charter of the United Nations as defined therein.
According to the first paragraph of Article 3 of this resolution, any of the following acts, regardless of the declaration of war, is considered aggression:
First, the invasion or invasion of the territory of another State by the armed forces of one State, or any military occupation, however temporary, resulting from such an invasion or aggression or any annexation of the territory of one State or part thereof by force.
It is clear that the annexation or occupation of territory resulting from legitimate defense or collective defense measures is outside the scope of this paragraph.
4- Prohibition of war against civilians
The basic purpose of international humanitarian law is to reduce as much as possible the injuries inflicted on civilians who have not or will not participate in the war.
Protecting civilians and civilian targets from the effects of war is a fundamental obligation of international organizations and institutions that have the duty to protect them, and the humane treatment of the enemy in a state of war and after arrest is legally required by human necessity. . The main source of these rules is the Hague Conventions and the four Geneva Conventions and its two Additional Protocols of 1977, which are now customary in nature.