Sana'a: The Yemeni Center for Human Rights has condemned the violation of Yemeni sovereignty and airspace by Saudi warplanes on Friday. The violation involved a blatant interception and a dangerous attempt to obstruct the flight path of an Iranian humanitarian aid plane carrying over 200 Yemenis, including stranded individuals, the wounded, and the sick, who have been unable to return home due to the ongoing American-Saudi-Emirati blockade and aggression against Yemen led by Saudi Arabia.
According to Yemen News Agency, the Center affirmed that this aggressive behavior in Yemeni airspace constitutes a grave violation of international humanitarian law and a full-fledged war crime. It also constitutes an act of air piracy, which is criminalized under international law. The statement asserted that the incident constitutes a violation of the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation (1944), particularly Article 1, which stipulates that "every state has complete and absolute sovereignty over the airspace above its territory." This action demonstrates a disregard for the lives of civilians and the wounded, whose protection is guaranteed under international humanitarian law and the four Geneva Conventions.
The statement clarified that this incident is not an isolated act, but rather an extension of the aggression against the Republic of Yemen and the policy of collective punishment and comprehensive blockade imposed by the Saudi-led coalition on the Yemeni people for nearly 11 years. It pointed out that the closure of Sana'a International Airport is currently the most damaging and deadly blow to civilians, and the most prominent evidence of the ongoing aggression. This continued closure has had catastrophic consequences, the effects of which have been documented and recorded by the center and local and international humanitarian and health organizations, including the deprivation of Yemenis' right to travel and access medical treatment.
The statement stated that the airport blockade has resulted in the deaths of over 1.5 million patients, including thousands of children and newborns, due to shortages of specialized medications and the inability to access drugs that were previously brought in through Sana'a Airport. He added that 125,000 patients have died because they were unable to travel abroad for treatment. Furthermore, it noted that over 250,000 patients currently require urgent travel for life-saving treatment, suffering from serious illnesses and facing imminent death unless the airspace is reopened and restrictions on the freedom of movement and travel of citizens are completely and permanently lifted.
The statement explained that the continued ban on flights to Sana'a Airport has halted air shipments of medicines and vital medical supplies, exacerbating the indirect losses suffered by the Yemeni economy and health sector, which have exceeded billions of dollars. He also pointed to a 60% decrease in imports of medicines and medical supplies, further deteriorating the health system and threatening the lives of millions of Yemenis.
The Yemeni Center for Human Rights welcomed any humanitarian initiative that contributes to lifting the blockade and alleviating the suffering of Yemenis, including the initiative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to break the siege on the Yemeni people by opening a regular air route to Sana'a International Airport. The Center urgently appealed to neighboring and friendly free countries to follow this humanitarian initiative and open regular air routes to Sana'a International Airport in support of humanity and the rights of peoples to freedom and self-determination.
The Center emphasized that, in the face of this arrogance and the continued aggression, blockade, and air piracy, it calls upon the United Nations and the Security Council to break their shameful silence and complicity, assume their legal and moral responsibility, and issue a binding resolution to lift the comprehensive blockade on Yemen permanently and open Sana'a International Airport to all flights without any restrictions or conditions. The center called upon all free peoples and nations worldwide, including non-governmental organizations, human rights activists, and all those who value freedom, to stand in solidarity with the plight of the Yemeni people and their fundamental human right to life, sovereignty, and liberty.
It urged them to activate all forms of advocacy and legal, media, and public pressure on complicit governments and to expose the ongoing crimes committed by the coalition forces in Yemen.