Part 1: The Conflict in Yemen Under International Law

International humanitarian law, known as the laws of war, applies during the ongoing non-international armed conflict in Yemen. The conflict began between the forces of President Abd Rabboh Mansour Hadi and the armed group Ansar Allah (Houthis) armed group. The members of the Arab Coalition, led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, intervened in combat operations alongside President Hadi’s government.^[1]

All parties to the conflict, including states and non-state armed groups, are obliged to adhere to international humanitarian law. Applicable law includes Common Article 3 to the Geneva Conventions of 1949, Additional Protocol (II) to the Geneva Conventions of 1977, and customary international humanitarian law. International human rights law remains in effect during armed conflicts.

Mwatana repeatedly found warring parties failing to abide by their international legal obligations during military operations in 2018, causing hundreds of civilian casualties, as well as wide-scale destruction of civilian objects.

International humanitarian law requires warring parties to minimize harm to civilians during conflict. Central principles of the laws of war include civilian immunity and distinction, which require that warring parties to never deliberately target civilians and to distinguish between combatant and civilians and between military objects and civilian objects at all times. A party to a conflict may not use a means or method of combat that is, by its nature, indiscriminate, nor carry out attacks that would cause disproportionate harm to the civilian population. Parties to a conflict must also take all feasible precautions to minimize harm to civilians and civilian objects. All forces must avoid locating military objectives within or near densely populated areas and endeavor to remove civilians from the vicinity of military objectives, and otherwise protect the civilian population under their control against the dangers of military operations. One party’s failure to take feasible precautions does not negate the other party’s own obligations under the laws of war.

Common Article 3 to the Geneva Conventions also provides a number of protections to civilians, as well as to others, like the sick or captured combatants, who are no longer taking part in hostilities. Common Article 3 prohibits violence to them, including murder, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture, taking them hostage, and outrages against their personal dignity. Additional Protocol II of the Geneva Conventions also prohibits, among other acts, collective punishment, acts of terrorism, rape, any form of indecent assault, and pillaging.

States have an obligation to investigate war crimes allegedly committed by members of their armed forces and other persons within their jurisdiction. Commanders and civilian leaders may be prosecuted for war crimes as a matter of command responsibility when they knew or should have known about the commission of war crimes and took insufficient measures to prevent them or punish those responsible. According to International humanitarian law, a state should make full reparations for the loss caused by violations.

International human rights law continues to apply during armed conflict. Certain fundamental rights, including the rights to life, to a fair trial and to be free from torture, mistreatment and arbitrary deprivation of liberty, must be respected at all times, including during conflict. Non-state actors that exercise government like functions and control a territory are obliged to respect human rights norms when their conduct affects the human rights of the individuals under their control.

^[1] For further clarification on the classification of the armed conflict that is going on in Yemen, see Q & A on The Conflict in Yemen and International Law, Human Rights Watch, available at the following link: https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/04/06/q-conflict-yemen-and-international-law