A/HRC/42/33 I. Introduction 1. The present report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 39/21, in which the Council requested the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to continue to provide substantive capacity-building and technical support to the National Commission of Inquiry to investigate allegations of violations and abuses committed by all parties to the conflict in Yemen to ensure that it continues to investigate allegations of violations and abuses committed by all parties to the conflict in Yemen, and in line with international standards, and to present a written report on the implementation of technical assistance at its forty-second session. 2. In her report the High Commissioner describes the mandate of the National Commission, which started its work in October 2015, and provides an overview of the technical assistance and capacity-building provided by her Office between March 2016 and September 2019 pursuant to Council resolution 33/16. The report focuses on the mandate of the Commission on the basis of international standards pertaining to commissions of inquiry.1 3. The report should be read in conjunction with previous reports of the High Commissioner to the Human Rights Council on the situation of human rights in Yemen, 2 which included information on technical assistance and capacity-building provided by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to the National Commission. II. National Commission of Inquiry A. Mandate 4. The National Commission was established pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 140 of 2012, amended by Presidential Decrees No. 13 of 2015, Nos. 66 and 97 of 2016 and No. 50 of 2017. It is mandated “to investigate all alleged violations of human rights and international humanitarian law since the year 2011”. 3 The internal regulations of the Commission specify that it is “to investigate individual and group complaints received, and identify perpetrators”. It is also empowered to “subpoena any person to listen to their testimony” and “to obtain relevant documents and other evidence”.4 5. Presidential Decree No. 50 of 2017 describes the methodology of the National Commission and extended the term of its mandate to two years from the date of the issuance of the decree, with a possibility for renewal by presidential decree. B. Composition 6. The National Commission is currently composed of nine members, six men and three women; four members are from Northern governorates and five, including the Chair, are from Southern governorates. Five of the members are judges, three are lawyers and one is a university professor. 1 2 3 4 2 See the updated set of principles for the protection and promotion of human rights through action to combat impunity (E/CN.4/2005/102/Add.1) and Commissions of Inquiry and Fact-Finding Missions on International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (New York and Geneva, United Nations, 2015). A/HRC/33/38, A/HRC/36/33 and A/HRC/39/43. Presidential Decree No. 140 of 2012, art. 3. Ibid., chap. 3, art. 4 (6).