Link to article: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/10/yemen-civilian-deaths-double-since-un-monitors-removed-ngo-says
In October of 2021 the UN human rights monitors were controversially removed from Yemen causing a spike of deaths and injuries in the war. Pushing for the reinstatement of the human rights monitors, the Norwegian Refugee Council stated that “The ejection of monitors had opened the door to ‘unchecked, horrific violations.’” With 1,575 civilians injured or killed in Yemen in the four months following the departure, that is almost double the 823 in the 4 months prior to the removal. In a heavily criticized move, the UN Human Rights Council voted in October to remove the Group of Eminent International and Regional Experts in Yemen, taking away the independent, international and impartial monitors in the country.
In my opinion I feel like it was not a good move by the UN to remove the Human Rights monitors. In an area that is in the middle of a crisis, they should’ve kept as much support there as they could in order to prevent the violence from increasing. Instead, they took away the much needed support in a nation that desperately needed it. The goal of the UN is to maintain international peace and security. Taking away the human rights monitors in Yemen, they are failing to maintain the violence, but instead they increased it. If possible they should take a look at what has happened due to their decision, and maybe take it back into consideration if it is something that would be beneficial to keep helping.
This relates back to class due to the fact that it involves the UN. The UN is the closest thing that we have to a world government and they run on the principles that states are equal under international law, sovereign and independent, and fulfill their international obligations. The UN is a symbol for international order. The absence of the UN monitors due to the withdrawal is a failure for that very mission. It also sends a message to the world that the UN is incapable of fulfilling this role, particularly in environments and situations where such a presence is most needed. Absent monitors, the violence and civil rights violations go unchecked.