Equipo Nizkor - UNSC S/2016/850 - Statement of the coalition to restore legitimacy in Yemen after the attack against the community hall of Al-Salah al-kubra in Sana'a.

United Nations
Security Council

S/2016/850

Distr.: General
11 October 2016
Original: English

Letter dated 9 October 2016 from the Permanent Representative of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council

Upon instructions from my Government, I wish to bring the following to your attention.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia deeply regrets the reported attack against the community hall of Al-Salah al-kubra in Sana'a, Yemen. We wish to reiterate our full respect for, commitment to and compliance with international humanitarian law and international human rights law and reaffirm that we will continue to ensure that all possible measures are taken to protect all civilians and civilian objects in Yemen and take the corrective and appropriate measures necessary to ensure accountability, including the release of the results of the ongoing investigation into this incident in the near future.

In this regard, I have the honour to attach herewith the statement issued by the coalition forces to restore legitimacy in Yemen (see annex). The statement includes the following points:

(a) The coalition expressed its deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims and the wounded in the regrettable and tragic incident that occurred in Sana'a on 8 October 2016 as a result of the ongoing hostilities in the aftermath of the militia's seizure of power in September 2014;

(b) The coalition reaffirmed that its forces followed strict and clear rules of engagement that prohibit the targeting of any civilians and civilian objects and that they take all possible measures to prevent exposing civilians to any danger;

(c) The coalition will conduct an immediate investigation and provide the investigation team with all the data and information related to the military operations that were conducted during the day of the incident, including in the area of the incident and all the areas that surround it.

We wish to take this opportunity to reaffirm that the coalition will spare no effort to work diligently towards restoring peace and stability and to reach a sustainable political solution to the conflict in Yemen, in line with the relevant Security Council resolutions. We reiterate our support to the important work of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, to reach a comprehensive agreement to end the conflict in Yemen, in accordance with the Initiative of the Gulf Cooperation Council and its implementation mechanism and the National Dialogue Conference Outcomes and pursuant to the relevant Security Council resolutions.

It would be appreciated if the present letter and its annex were circulated as a document of the Security Council.

(Signed) Abdallah Y. Al-Mouallimi
Permanent Representative

Annex to the letter dated 9 October 2016 from the Permanent Representative of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council

[Original: Arabic]

Statement of the coalition to restore legitimacy in Yemen

Riyadh, 8 October 2016

The high command of the forces of the coalition to restore legitimacy in Yemen emphasizes that it does not target civilian areas and makes every effort to avoid endangering civilians.

The high command of the forces of the coalition to restore legitimacy in Yemen expresses its condolences and sympathy to the families of those killed and injured in the regrettable and distressing incident that took place in Sana'a today, Saturday 8 October 2016, in the course of combat operations that have been ongoing since a coup was perpetrated there in September 2014.

Coalition forces high command emphasizes that its forces have clear and explicit instructions to refrain from targeting civilian areas and to make every effort to avoid endangering civilians. Coalition forces high command will conduct an immediate investigation. The investigating team will benefit from the expertise of the Americans and will draw on the lessons learned from similar investigations.

The investigating team will be given all of the information at the disposal of coalition forces with regard to the military operations that were carried out on that date in the area of the incident and surrounding areas. Its findings will be announced immediately once the investigation is complete.

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11Oct16

Statement of the coalition to restore legitimacy in Yemen after the attack against the community hall of Al-Salah al-kubra in Sana'a