UN Human Rights Council

60th session – Item 10

L.26 – Explanation of Position

Technical assistance and capacity-building for Yemen in the field of human rights

EU Explanation of Position

Mr. President,

I have the honor to speak on behalf of the EU Member States that are members of the Human Rights Council. This Explanation of Position has been agreed by the EU as a whole.

The EU welcomes the government of Yemen and the core group for presenting this resolution again. 

However, we must express our profound disappointment regarding the resolution under consideration today. The suffering of the Yemeni people demands the full attention of this Council and merits a dedicated dialogue. It requires independent monitoring of ongoing human rights violations and full accountability for abuses—in the interest of victims and survivors.

During the negotiations, the EU made constructive proposals aligned with the spirit of the text. These proposals enjoyed cross-regional support and were presented openly and constructively. Yet, year after year, the core group flatly rejects them without solid justification.

The proposals from the EU represent the bare minimum for an appropriate response from this Council to the situation in Yemen. In essence, they would reinsert provisions that were part of this same item 10 resolution text between 2011 and 2018, always with the consent of the Yemeni government. They would also bring the text up to the standard mandated by other item 10 resolutions adopted by this Council, such as those on Libya, Somalia, DRC, Mali, Ukraine, and the Philippines.

Mr. President,

The EU strongly condemns the continued detentions by the Houthis of United Nations personnel and staff working for international and national NGOs and diplomatic missions. We appreciate that the need for their unconditional and immediate release is reflected in the current text.

The human rights situation remains deeply concerning in Yemen, especially in areas under Houthi control, where women cannot travel without a male guardian and humanitarian workers face systematic obstacles in aiding the Yemeni people.

Despite our constructive engagement, we conclude that the core group of this resolution seems more interested in preventing the Human Rights Council from discussing Yemen’s human rights situation than in addressing and improving it.

Thank you.