Yemen

Oxfam condemns Saudi-led coalition airstrike on a funeral in Sanaa which according to the UN killed 140 people and injured more than 500.

The Human Rights Council decision not to set up an independent inquiry to investigate human rights violations by all sides to the conflict in Yemen is unacceptable.

Eighteen months of war has pushed Yemen to the brink of catastrophe and left millions of people running out of means of survival, warned Oxfam in a new report published today.

In response to reports that the UN has reviewed the participants of Yemen's conflict blacklisted in last week's UN report on Children and Conflict, Oxfam said: "It appears that political power and diplomatic clout have been allowed to trump the UN's duty to expose those responsible for the killing and maiming of more than a thousand of Yemen's children."  

This briefing shares the experiences of some of the 250 people interviewed by Oxfam in Yemen in February 2016 and shows how a year of intense conflict has created one of the world’s biggest humanitarian emergencies and risks pushing millions into famine.

Oxfam is scaling up its operations in Taiz governorate, Yemen, to meet the increasing humanitarian needs in communities affected by the escalating fighting in and around Taiz city. The UN’s Emergency Response Coordinator, Stephen O’Brien, has described Taiz city as a ‘city under virtual siege’, with food, medical supplies, and fuel blocked from entering and humanitarian agencies denied access to the besieged population. 

A rare cyclone has left conflict ravaged Yemen facing a double disaster as Cyclone Chapala promises a decade-worth of rain in Yemen in just a few days.

In an open letter sent today, Oxfam, Norwegian Refugee Council, Save the Children, Action Contre La Faim and seven other agencies urge the UN Security Council to press parties in the Yemen conflict to implement an immediate ceasefire and kick-start the peace process.

It is shameful that members of the Human Rights Council prioritized perceived geo-strategic interests above the need for accountability and failed today to establish an international independent mechanism to investigate breaches of these laws.