Yemen

Alison Thewliss Excerpts

Thursday 24th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Alison Thewliss (Glasgow Central) (SNP)]

First, I thank hon. Members for securing this debate. I am glad to see the hon. Member for Meon Valley (Mrs Drummond) back in the House, because she is a strong voice for Yemen.

I wish to draw the House’s attention to the third report of the UN group of eminent experts on Yemen, entitled “A Pandemic of Impunity in a Tortured Land”. The chair of that group, Kamel Jendoubi, has implored the international community to take action and

“not turn a blind eye”

any longer. So much of what has happened in Yemen has been incredibly well documented, and we all know that that has happened.

The eminent experts recognise that

“there are no clean hands in this conflict”.

However, I ask all Members to reflect on the group’s statements, particularly on arms sales. It says that

“the continued supply of weapons to parties to the conflict is only perpetuating the conflict and prolonging the suffering of the Yemeni people.”

Anybody who is selling arms into that conflict should bear that in mind. I ask the Minister to respond in particular to the recommendation by the group of eminent experts that the situation in Yemen should be referred to the International Criminal Court. Will he support that very strong recommendation?

Will the Minister consider speaking to his colleagues in the Home Office? There should be a place of safety in this country for Yemenis who reach these shores. As the hon. Member for Liverpool, Riverside (Kim Johnson) said, however, that has not been the case. Last week, May Bulman reported in The Independent that Yemenis were among those the Home Office tried to put on a removal flight. This matters; it has been going on for as long as the war. A Yemeni constituent the Home Office tried to remove, not long after I was first elected in 2015, eventually got sanctuary in Glasgow, but I wish that many more Yemenis who reach these shores were able to get that peace of mind and safety.

Let me reflect on some comments from people in Yemen and what they are asking for, and particularly on the position of women within peace negotiations, which is incredibly important. Dr Bilqis Abu Osba, head of the Awam Foundation for Development and Culture, says of women and their involvement in peace building that

“the inclusion of women and youth in any upcoming peace process is an assurance for comprehensive and just peace for all Yemenis.”

I encourage the Minister to ensure that as many women’s organisations as possible are included in those negotiation to help build the peace.

Other organisations such as Amnesty, Mwatana for Human Rights, and the Mothers of Abductees Association have raised particular concerns about the failure to implement measures in the Stockholm agreements regarding the return of those who have been kidnapped, detained or forcibly disappeared. Many people have disappeared. People do not know where they are, and their families remain concerned about their prospects. It seems particularly brutal that that situation is still going on, despite being mentioned in those agreements. I urge the Minister to consider what more can be done to ensure that people can get back home to their families.

Finally, I will mention one person who was forcibly disappeared by the Houthis, but who was able to return to his family. Hisham al-Omeisy spoke on Peace Day, and I will conclude with what he said:

“I’m haunted by the ghosts of thousands of souls lost in the brutal Yemen conflict asking if it was worth it. It wasn’t. Violence was never the answer. Sadly, we can’t change the past. But we can learn and charter a new path for reconciliation and peace together.”

I urge the Government to take that on board.