UN Council to vote on Yemen resolution on Friday

UN Council to vote on Yemen resolution on Friday

The United Nations Security Council will vote on a British-drafted resolution on Yemen on Friday that condemns the government crackdown against pro-democracy demonstrators.  

Diplomats say the resolution also states that those responsible should be held accountable.

The Nigerian mission, which holds the council presidency this month, confirmed the diplomats' remarks.

Resolution

The resolution, which Western diplomats said they hoped would win unanimous approval from the 15-nation Security Council, comes more than half a year after the protests began in the Arab world's poorest country, inspired by "Arab Spring" uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.

The draft resolution is less than what was demanded in New York on Tuesday by Yemeni protest leader, Tawakul Karman, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize along with two Liberian women earlier this month.

Plea

Speaking at a demonstration, Karman made an impassioned plea to the United Nations to reject a Gulf Arab plan that would grant immunity to her country's "war criminal" president, Ali Abdullah Saleh. She also called for his assets to be frozen and his case to be referred to the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

She had earlier on Wednesday met with the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, French UN Ambassador, Gerard Araud and other top diplomats to reiterate her demands.

Ban told Karman that the United Nations had "a clear stance against impunity for gross human rights violations," the UN press office said in a statement.

Speaking privately, council diplomats acknowledged that the draft resolution fell far short of Karman's demands, but they rejected the suggestion that they had ignored the question of accountability altogether.

Accountability

The draft resolution, if approved, would have the council declare that "all those responsible for violence, human rights violations and abuse should be held accountable."

But it does not refer the matter to the ICC as the council did in the case of Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed on Thursday, nor does it provide details on how accountability could be achieved.

Although it does not formally endorse the Gulf Cooperation Council deal that would grant Saleh and people close to him immunity from prosecution, it calls for the immediate signature and implementation of an agreement based on that deal.

"Everyone on the council recognizes that there's a need for a political deal in Yemen; unfortunately, the GCC deal's the only game in town” a Western diplomat told reporters on condition of anonymity.

The situation in Yemen has continued to worsen with dozens of protesters being killed over the last few days, witnesses have said.

A surge in attacks on Yemen's oil and gas infrastructure by tribesmen or al Qaeda militants threatens further disruptions or a complete cut in exports.

Reuters/Ehimen