The NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) has denounced Thursday that the Yemeni authorities are failing in their obligations to protect the rights of the country’s population.
«The Yemeni government is failing to protect the basic human rights of the people (…) It has the opportunity to save millions of lives, including those of children, by instituting policies that allow humanitarian aid to flow and water, food, and medical care to be accessible,» said Niku Jafarnia, Yemen and Bahrain researcher for HRW.
The organization’s researcher lamented the lack of progress in fulfilling Yemenis’ right to health and style in a conflict that has dragged on for more than seven years.
«The levels of famine in Yemen are unprecedented and are a direct effect of the actions of the parties to the conflict, including their attacks on health, food and water infrastructure,» Jafarnia criticized.
HRW said the Saudi-UAE-led coalition has carried out numerous airstrikes on food and water infrastructure across the country, causing widespread food insecurity.
In this regard, the NGO has considered that the authorities have hindered access to humanitarian aid, despite repeated requests from international institutions, which indicate that more than 23 million people out of a total of 30 are in need of humanitarian assistance.
«The parties to the conflict must take immediate steps to alleviate the widespread health crisis facing the people of Yemen, which includes, first and foremost, ending all attacks on civilian infrastructure,» it has demanded, referring to the destruction of hospitals, irrigation works or farms.
By the end of 2022, 17.8 million people in Yemen did not have access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene services, and 17 million people were food insecure, with 6.1 million facing emergency food insecurity levels, according to the UN food program.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
