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injuring two civilians and causing material
damage.
AERIAL AND NAVAL BLOCKADE
The coalition continued to impose a partial
sea and air blockade that was tightened in
November, purportedly to enforce the UN-
sanctioned arms embargo on the Huthis and
Saleh-aligned forces. Throughout the year,
these blockades curtailed the movement of
people and goods, deepening the
humanitarian crisis caused by the conflict
and contributing to violations of the right to
health and to an adequate standard of living,
including adequate food. This contributed to
pervasive food insecurity and what became
the world’s worst cholera epidemic. In March,
the NGO Save the Children reported that the
coalition prevented three of its aid shipments
from reaching the port of Hodeidah, forcing
them to reroute to Aden and delaying the
delivery of aid for three months. In August,
OCHA reported that four vessels carrying
more than 71,000 tonnes of fuel were denied
access to Hodeidah by the coalition. In
November, 29 ships carrying essential
supplies were prevented by the coalition from
reaching Hodeidah port, according to OCHA.
ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS
The Huthi-Saleh forces, Yemeni government
and Yemeni forces aligned with the UAE
engaged in arbitrary and illegal detention
practices. Amnesty International documented
a few cases in Sana’a and Marib of civilians
being detained solely to be used as leverage
in future prisoner exchanges, which amounts
to hostage-taking and is a violation of
international humanitarian law.
In Sana’a and other areas they controlled,
the Huthis and their allies continued to
arbitrarily arrest and detain critics and
opponents as well as journalists, private
individuals, human rights defenders and
members of the Baha’i community,
subjecting scores to enforced disappearance.
Five Baha’i men remained in detention at the
end of the year. One of the men had been
held for nearly four years, accused by the
Huthis of apostasy, which carries the death
penalty under Yemeni law.
UAE-backed Yemeni forces in Aden
perpetrated a campaign of arbitrary detention
and enforced disappearances. Amnesty
International documented 13 cases of
arbitrary detention during the year; some of
these detainees were held incommunicado or
had been subjected to enforced
disappearance. Members of the Baha’i
community were also arbitrarily detained at
Aden International Airport by local forces
aligned with the UAE and were held without
charge for nine months.
Professor and political figure Mustafa al-
Mutawakel was arbitrarily arrested by the
internationally recognized Yemeni
government forces in Marib on 27 April. He
remained in detention without charge.
IMPUNITY
Since the conflict began, all parties
committed serious violations of international
humanitarian law and violations and abuses
of human rights law with absolute impunity.
Since its inception in September 2015, the
National Commission to Investigate Alleged
Violations of Human Rights, established by
the Yemeni government, failed to conduct
prompt, impartial and effective investigations
consistent with international standards into
alleged human rights violations committed by
all parties to the conflict in Yemen. Similarly,
the Saudi Arabia-led coalition investigative
mechanism continued to appear to lack the
necessary impartiality and independence to
carry out its work credibly.
With the proliferation of armed groups and
security forces without command and control
and the lack of effective control of the central
government over its security forces and
territories, the space for impunity further
widened. In its mid-term report, the UN
Panel of Experts on Yemen expressed
concern that member states of the coalition
were expressly shielding themselves from
accountability and individual responsibility by
hiding behind the umbrella of the coalition.
In a positive development, the UN Human
Rights Council passed a resolution in
September mandating a group of experts to
investigate abuses by all parties in Yemen.
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This constituted a first step towards justice
for victims of human rights abuses and grave
violations of international law.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION AND
ASSOCIATION
The Huthis and their allies, as well as armed
factions in Ta’iz, Aden and Sana’a, waged a
campaign against journalists and human
rights defenders, curtailing freedom of
expression in areas under their de facto
administration.
The Huthis and allied forces continued to
hold at least nine journalists without charge;
they had been arbitrarily detained for more
than two years. Meanwhile in Aden and Ta’iz,
armed groups and security forces
assassinated, harassed, intimidated, detained
and in some cases tortured human rights
defenders and journalists, forcing some to
exercise self-censorship and others to flee
Yemen.
The Saudi Arabia-led coalition and the
Yemeni government prevented journalists
from entering Yemen, including by preventing
the UN from allowing journalists onto their
flights into Yemen, minimizing coverage and
effectively imposing a media blackout. This
ban was also extended to human rights
organizations in May.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
The protracted conflict exacerbated existing
discrimination and inequality for women and
girls and gave rise to the adoption of negative
coping mechanisms, such as child marriage,
especially in the governorates of Ta’iz, Hajjah,
Hodeidah, Ibb and Sana’a. Societal and legal
protection mechanisms – however
inadequate – broke down. This left women
and girls with less protection from, and fewer
avenues of redress for, sexual and other
violence, including female genital mutilation,
forced marriage and other abuses.
DEATH PENALTY
The death penalty remained in force for
many crimes; no information was publicly
available about death sentences or
executions. On 12 April, the Huthi-Saleh
authorities in Sana’a convicted journalist
Yahya al-Jubaihi and sentenced him to death
on charges of spying. This was the first time
the Huthi-Saleh authorities had sentenced
somebody to death. Yahya al-Jubaihi was
released in September.
ZAMBIA
Republic of Zambia
Head of state and government: Edgar Chagwa Lungu
The authorities cracked down on critics,
including human rights defenders,
journalists and opposition political party
members. The Public Order Act was used to
repress rights to freedom of expression,
association and assembly. The police used
unnecessary and excessive force against
peaceful protesters and failed to address
violence by groups close to the government.
The judiciary came under verbal attack from
the President. Levels of food insecurity in
rural areas remained high.
BACKGROUND
There was heightened tension between
supporters of the President and of Hakainde
Hichilema, leader of the opposition United
Party for National Development (UPND),
following the disputed election results in
2016. Hakainde Hichilema refused to
recognize Edgar Chagwa Lungu as President.
The Constitutional Court rejected Hakainde
Hichilema’s petition against the results on
procedural grounds. The Court was also
expected to deliver a judgment during 2018
on whether President Lungu could run for
president in the 2021 elections.
FREEDOMS OF ASSEMBLY AND
ASSOCIATION
The space for civil society, human rights
defenders, journalists and opposition political
parties was increasingly restricted. The
authorities continued to use the Public Order
Act to prevent political parties and civil
society organizations from gathering. Section
5(4) of the Act provided that anyone