Dan Jarvis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2015-10-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the parties to the conflict in Yemen on their complying with obligations under international humanitarian law and on ending the use of explosive weapons with wide-area effects in populated areas.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We are aware of reports on alleged violations of international humanitarian law (IHL) by all sides to the conflict in Yemen, and take them very seriously. We have raised our concerns over alleged IHL violations with the Saudi Arabian Government and other members of the Coalition, and in return have received repeated assurances of their compliance. We have also raised our concerns over alleged IHL and international human rights law violations by the Houthis, and again stressed the importance of compliance.