Describing the crisis in Yemen as one of the biggest crises in the history of the Arabian Peninsula, the director of the of IRIB International Center said, “With the siege, ground and air attacks, the invading coalition have destroyed Yemen’s economic, agricultural, health and educational infrastructure.”
Coinciding with the intensification of the aggression of the Arab-Western-Hebrew coalition in attacking the oppressed people of Yemen, the International Conference “Investigating the Dimensions of the Aggression against Yemen” was held on Saturday, February 5, 2022, by the Arbaeen International Foundation in cooperation with the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly and coordinated institutions.
In a speech at the conference, describing his attendance at the conference as an honor, Dr. Ali Fahim Danesh, the Director of IRIB International Center, said, “I will talk about examining the legal aspects of the aggression against Yemen.”
“Regarding Yemen, two issues in international law can be considered,” the director of the IRIB International Center added, “The legitimacy of military intervention, on the one hand, and the method of using force and war, on the other, must be examined.”
“Yemen has been under siege by land, sea and air since 2015. There have been hundreds of thousands of attacks on people in this country, and many of the victims of these indiscriminate attacks have been women, children, and the elderly,” he said, discussing the use of military force by the Saudi-led coalition.
“The aggressor coalition has deliberately targeted and destroyed Yemen’s economic infrastructure, food factories, roads, health centers, irrigation and agricultural infrastructure,” Dr. Danesh continued.
“The crisis in Yemen is one of the biggest crises in the history of the Arabian Peninsula,” the director of the IRIB International Center explained, “Currently, more than 80% of the Yemeni people are in urgent need of assistance, 22 million people do not have food security, and according to statistics, more than a thousand Yemeni medical centers have been destroyed by the Saudis or are out of service.”
“Yemen’s infrastructure has suffered tens of billions of dollars in damage, the health sector has been completely destroyed, infectious diseases have spread, the environment and water supply projects have been attacked by the coalition and drinking water has been withheld from many people,” he said by presenting statistics.
“In Yemen, the rates of cholera, typhoid, diphtheria, malnutrition, anemia, child and adult mortality, and poor growth are very high. There is a shortage of medicine and the impossibility of treatment in the country, and many of the medicines have expired during the siege,” Dr. Danesh added.
“Many facilities of Yemeni public and private universities have been partially or completely destroyed, 95 research institutes and universities have been completely demolished, the possibility of pre-school and primary education has been largely diminished, 4435409 Male and female students do not go to school, and mental disorders and malnutrition are very common,” said the director of the IRIB International Center, referring to the losses of the Yemeni education sector.
“Yemeni citizens are abducted, imprisoned and tortured, and forced to make false confessions and, without just verdicts, face punishments that have no judicial origin. They are executed and amputated. Prisoners are held in secret and non-standard prisons and are subjected to violence and rape,” he added, referring to the deliberate chemical damage and cluster bombs to Yemeni agriculture.
“The conflict in Yemen is a clear and gross violation of international law by the countries in the Saudi-led coalition,” Dr. Danesh added, “The Saudi coalition does not observe the principle of non-use of prohibited weapons and the principle of proportionality and segregation. Their attacks are non-discriminatory, and the use of unconventional ammunition, which has devastating effects on the environment and the Yemeni people for years to come, are violation of the 1998 resolution of International Criminal Court and are war crimes,”
“Other crimes of the Saudi coalition are the sale of Yemen’s natural resources and the destruction of the country’s antiquities,” the director of the IRIB International Center said, “1934 Religious, cultural and tourist sites in Yemen are destroyed, many of which have historical, civilizational and cultural value to the Yemeni people, and their reconstruction is almost impossible.”
“The Saudi coalition is responsible for compensating Yemen,” he clarified, “Peace in Yemen must be just and lasting, and the aggressors must accept their responsibility in order to establish a lasting peace in Yemen.”