Air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition are responsible for the deaths of some 60 percent of the 3,799 civilians killed since March 2015, and the country has committed other violations that may contravene worldwide law, the office said in a report.
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US Secretary of State John Kerry has announced a new initiative to restart Yemen peace talks, offering Houthi rebels participation in the country’s unity government in exchange for a transfer of their heavy weapons to a third party.
The US has backed the coalition with multi-billion dollar arms sales and provided logistical and intelligence support.
The U.S. military has coordinated with the Saudi-led air campaign in Yemen, helping ensure Saudi access to precision-guided munitions.
United Nations -sponsored talks to end the 18-months of infighting collapsed earlier this month, when the Iran-allied Houthi began fighting again with the supporters of displaced interim President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
On Thursday, Kerry said the Houthis must cease shelling across the border with Saudi Arabia, withdraw from the capital Sanaa, hand over their weapons including the ballistic missiles and enter into a unity government with their domestic foes.
A Saudi-led Arab coalition in March previous year launched a military campaign against Huthi rebels as they closed in on UN-backed President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi in his southern refuge in Aden. The Shi’ite Houthis are allied with Iran, Saudi Arabia’s regional archrival.
The UN human rights office on Thursday called for the creation of an worldwide body to investigate Saudi-led coalition air strikes over human rights violations, including attacks on protected sites such as hospitals.
The Saudi ambassador was reportedly quoted by London-based Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper on 21 August as saying that Popular Mobilization Units – the Shia volunteer force in Iraq fighting Islamic State (Isis) – had targeted his convoy with “rocket-propelled grenades”.
A 14-member investigative team made up of coalition states Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar, as well as Yemen, investigated claims of attacks on a residential area, hospitals, markets, a wedding and World Food Programme aid lorries.
Rebels continue to hold the capital Sanaa. A number of USA lawmakers have also expressed concern about Washington’s role in the conflict.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, at a joint press conference with Kerry, said Riyadh had been “extremely careful and cautious” in trying to avoid noncombatant casualties.
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U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced today almost $189 million in additional humanitarian assistance in response to the crisis in Yemen, bringing the total U.S. humanitarian assistance for Yemen to more than $327 million in fiscal year 2016.
