Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 4 October 2018
33. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the outcome of the discussion at the recent UN Human Rights Council of the report of the findings of the group of eminent experts on Yemen; if action has been agreed among the members of the council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40307/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraAt the Human Rights Council in September 2017, Ireland was part of a small core group of countries that drove forward the adoption by consensus of a Resolution establishing a Group of Eminent Experts (GEE) on Yemen. The mandate of this group was to carry out investigations into all alleged violations of human rights and international humanitarian law by all warring parties in Yemen. The GEE presented its findings to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in a report published on 29 August 2018. The report strongly suggested that violations and crimes under international law have been perpetrated in Yemen since 2014. However the report also noted the limited time, access and resources that the experts had in order to carry out their work and that many incidents and alleged violations committed by all parties have not yet been fully documented.
Given the gravity of the situation in Yemen, Ireland and our core group partners believed it was important to give the Group of Eminent Experts more time to fully examine the conflict and to ensure that their conclusions comprehensively reflect the conduct of all parties in future reporting.
In light of this, Ireland once again worked with a core group of countries to bring forward a resolution which sought to extend the mandate of the GEE, in order to allow the group more time to continue its vital work. Last week, although there was unfortunately not full consensus on the issue, the Human Rights Council voted in favour of extending the mandate of the Group of Eminent Experts for a further period of one year, and requested that the Group submit a comprehensive written report to the High Commissioner for presentation next September, at the forty-second session of the Council.
