Germany 'deeply regrets' UN vote to end Yemen war crimes probe

By Oliver Towfigh Nia

BERLIN (AA) - Germany on Friday expressed “deep regret” over a vote in the UN Human Rights Council to end the Yemen war crimes investigation.

“We deeply regret that the Yemen resolution in the (UN) Human Rights Council failed. We observe ongoing serious human rights violations in Yemen by all parties to the conflict and one of the greatest humanitarian catastrophes of our time,” Foreign Ministry Deputy Spokesman Christopher Burger told media representatives in Berlin.

UN Human Rights Council members narrowly voted to reject a resolution proposed by the Netherlands and backed by Germany to extend the independent investigators' mandate to monitor severe human rights violations in Yemen's civil war for another two years.

Burger vowed that his country will continue to "closely monitor” the human rights situation in Yemen.

“Even though the resolution has now been rejected, the human rights situation in Yemen will continue to be dealt with and will be closely monitored by us,” Burger said.

Bahrain, Russia, and several other members of the UN Human Rights Council pressed ahead with the vote on Thursday to end the body's war crimes investigations in Yemen amid western diplomatic efforts to keep the mission alive.

It is the first time in the Geneva-based UN human rights body's 15-year history that a resolution has been defeated.

Independent investigators have stated repeatedly that there is evidence that all sides in the military conflict committed war crimes.

Yemen has been beset by violence and chaos since 2014, when Houthis overran much of the country, including the capital Sanaa. The crisis escalated in 2015 when a Saudi-led coalition launched a devastating air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi territorial gains.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the conflict has claimed more than 233,000 lives.