HRC 42 Oral Statement

Statements

HRC 42 Oral Statement

ID: High Commissioner report on Yemen - 5th Meeting, 42nd Regular Session Human Rights Council

Geneva—10 September 2019

Mr. President,

The Bahá’í International Community commends the Group of Eminent Experts on Yemen for their report regarding the Houthis’ persecution of the Bahá’ís. The report shows that, men, women and children alike are being systematically targeted solely because of their beliefs, including through raids of community gatherings and arbitrary detentions. At present, six persons are still in prison in Sana’a, one of which is under a death sentence as a result of “serious failures to uphold his right to a fair trial”, as stated in the report. The incitement to hatred against the Bahá’ís, particularly by the Houthi leader, Abdel Malek Al Houthi, was also a source of concern for the Group of Eminent Experts, which stated that “his words raise serious concerns in light of the present conflict where sectarian sentiments have been on the rise.”  The report further indicates that the Houthis denied even the existence of a Bahá’í community in Yemen, which is estimated to number in the thousands.

All these activities mirror those undertaken by the authorities in Iran against Bahá’ís in their country. 

Mr. President,

We have recently learned that one of the Bahá’í prisoners in Sana’a is in very poor health because of the harsh treatment he is facing while in detention. This man, who is now in his late sixties, served Yemeni society as a civil engineer his entire life, making lasting contributions to Sana’a’s physical infrastructure. What else, but external influence, would cause the Houthis to cast aside traditional Yemeni values of respect for the elderly and unjustly imprison a loyal and exemplary civil servant rather than allowing him to continue contributing to the progress of his country?

Mr. President,

We would like to ask the Group of Experts how the Houthi authorities can be convinced to cease persecuting the Bahá’ís and whether the Iranian influence in these human rights violations can be halted.