SANA'A: The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Tuesday urged all sides in Yemen to cease ongoing deadly attacks and live up to previous commitments to investigate the serious human rights violations of its former government, calling for an immediate and impartial investigation. Ravina Shamdasani, a spokeswoman for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, condemned all Yemeni factions after claiming that as many as 22 people have been killed in the city of Taiz by shootings and shellings since December 1, including two children. Despite tanks withdrawing from the city under a ceasefire pact to end violence that has consumed the country for nearly 10 months, witnesses and activists have claimed that forces loyal to former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh shot and killed a woman protester in Taiz just this week. Shamdasani added that the ongoing severity of the clashes between armed rebels and the Yemeni army warrant an immediate intervention by the UN agency, and she called on Yemeni government officials to allow a UN investigation as soon as possible. The Yemeni government has yet to issue a response. Yemen has been faced with calls for human rights investigations consistently throughout its government's transition. Last week, Nobel peace laureate Tawakkul Karman urged the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigateSaleh's violent crackdown on dissent and alleged human rights violations while in power. In September, the UN Security Council called on Yemen to comply with international lawand end ongoing violence against protesters that resulted in the deaths of at least 49 people shortly following Saleh's return as president after a three-month absence. The agency has also previously urged a UN intervention in Yemen after verifying that the Yemeni government was indeed firing on peaceful protesters. Saleh clung to the presidency throughout nearly 10 months of protests and violence despite agreeing to step down in April, shortly following his attempt to remove presidential term limits and expand his political authority. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/yHvOh Tags: Navi Pillay, UN, Violence Section: Human Rights, Yemen
