13 September, 2017
Saudi Arabia has insisted the time is not right for an independent worldwide inquiry into the war in Yemen, despite growing evidence of human rights violations caused by the Saudi-led campaign against the Houthis.
Alwasil spoke in respond to calls from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR).
On Wednesday, the Netherlands and Canada unveiled a draft resolution to establish an worldwide commission of inquiry (COI) to ensure that "perpetrators of violations and abuses, including those that may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity, are held accountable".
"We are working together to hopefully come to a compromise".
Meanwhile, a panel set up by the Saudi monarchy has cleared the USA -backed, Saudi-led coalition of any wrongdoing in the deaths of civilians following a string of deadly airstrikes in Yemen.
A film highlighting British arms sales to Saudi Arabia that activists say are used in the conflict in Yemen has been released by charity Save the Children in time for one of the world's largest arms fairs taking place in London on Tuesday.
In a joint open letter a year ago, Human Rights Watch and other NGOs called for the HRC to "establish an global, independent mechanism to investigate alleged serious violations and abuses of worldwide human rights and humanitarian law committed" in Yemen.
On Tuesday, Human Rights Watch accused the USA -backed, Saudi-led coalition of committing "war crimes", blaming it for the deaths of 39 civilians in the last two months alone.
The U.K. has approved 3.8 billion pounds ($5 billion) of arms licenses to Saudi Arabia, since the conflict escalated in March 2015 with exports including Paveway IV missiles and Typhoon fighter jets, according to Save the Children.
According to United Nations officials, more than 10,000 people have been killed in the fighting to date, while the Red Cross has reported that over 3 million people have fled their homes as a direct result of the conflict.
