MEDIA STATEMENT
5 August 2016
JOINT INCIDENTS ASSESSMENT TEAM INQUIRY INTO YEMEN
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia acknowledges the findings of an independent Joint Incidents Assessment Team (JIAT) inquiry on certain incidents allegedly carried out by the Arab Coalition in Yemen.
The JIAT concluded that it was satisfied that all safety procedures implemented by Coalition forces adhered to international humanitarian law. The outcome of investigations showed the Coalition abided by the military rules of engagement in six out of eight claims of attacks.
The report recognizes that where errors have been made they have been acknowledged and reparation will be made to the victims' families. The Coalition has given assurances it will make every effort to avoid such accidents in the future.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has adopted the same approach as the UK Government when confronted with such allegations.
In July this year, the United Kingdom's Foreign and Commonwealth Office stated, "We regularly encourage Saudi Arabia to investigate any allegations of breaches of IHL which are attributed to them; and for their investigations to be thorough and conclusive. Saudi Arabia has publicly stated that it is investigating reports of alleged violations, and that any lessons learned will be acted upon. We continue to believe that they have the best insight into their own military procedures, allowing them to understand what went wrong and apply the lessons learnt in the best possible way, if required. This is the standard we set ourselves and our allies. For example, when allegations have been made against us in Afghanistan and Iraq we have investigated these claims ourselves. We did not expect other states to do this and form judgements on our behalf."
JIAT's Legal Advisor, Lieutenant General Mansour Ahmed Al-Mansour from the Kingdom of Bahrain, said the work in assessing the accidents "depends on ensuring the legal aspects of target operations that are compatible with the international law, and on using the American and British mechanism to assess accidents in addition to the law of armed conflict."
JIAT also found the Houthi rebels have been using hospitals as military hideouts, in contravention of International Humanitarian Law. Such findings echo a UN report released overnight showing the Houthi rebels are responsible for many of the atrocities taking place in Yemen. They started the war, are using child soldiers as well as civilians as human shields. These are only some of the horrors carried out in their fight against the legitimate and internationally recognised Government.
His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf, Saudi Ambassador to the United Kingdom said:
"We are committed to a diplomatic resolution to end this conflict in Yemen and are again disappointed that the Houthis are not coming to the table on this."
The Arab coalition is operating with the unanimous support of the UN Security Council to thwart an Iranian backed Houthi rebellion in Yemen against the Government of President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.
The Joint Incidents Assessment Team is formed of 14 members from Coalition states, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Yemen.
ENDS
