Dhaka:The National Human Rights Commission has strongly criticized the actions of social media platforms Facebook and X for banning and closing numerous Yemeni pages and accounts. These accounts belong to media institutions, journalists, and human rights figures opposing the Saudi aggression on Yemen.
According to Yemen News Agency, the Commission released a statement condemning the actions as an attack on freedom of expression. The statement argues that these platforms, often described as the "public square of humanity," are instead being used as tools to support narratives aligned with American, Zionist, and Saudi interests while suppressing Yemeni voices.
The statement further claims that these actions represent an attempt to erase the truth and ban awareness rather than just individual posts or accounts. The Commission emphasized that the Yemeni people, who have endured conflict, will not be silenced by digital bans. It highlighted the ongoing conflict in regions like Taiz, Nahm, Saada, Sanaa, and Ibb, suggesting that the war is now as much about controlling narratives as it is about physical combat.
The Human Rights Commission views these measures as a violation of Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which protect the right to seek, receive, and impart information. The Commission described the bans as "racist digital discrimination" and criticized the platforms for applying double standards that allow war propaganda while silencing Yemeni self-defense.
Finally, the Commission called on the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression to condemn these actions, labeling them as technical complicity in war crimes. It urged Yemeni media professionals and human rights activists to adopt a strategy of "decentralized media" to avoid reliance on politicized platforms, asserting that free expression in times of aggression serves as resistance.
