A/HRC/45/6 I. Introduction 1. In its resolution 42/2, the Human Rights Council renewed for a further year the mandate of the Group of Eminent International and Regional Experts. The Group was mandated to, inter alia, monitor and report on the situation of human rights in Yemen and carry out comprehensive investigations into all alleged violations and abuses of international human rights law and all alleged violations of international humanitarian law committed by all parties to the conflict since September 2014, including possible gender dimensions of such violations, to establish the facts and circumstances surrounding the alleged violations and abuses and, where possible, to identify those responsible. 2. The Council requested the Group to present a comprehensive written report to the Human Rights Council at its forty-fifth session. In December 2019, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights reappointed Kamel Jendoubi (Tunisia) (Chair) and Melissa Parke (Australia) and appointed Ardi Imseis (Canada) to replace Charles Garraway (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland). II. Methodology 3. During this mandate period, the Group of Eminent Experts prioritized investigations of alleged violations occurring between July 2019 and June 2020, while extending the temporal scope for some categories of violations not fully addressed during its previous mandates.1 Violations were selected for examination according to the criteria previously outlined by the Group, including the gravity of allegations. Given the ongoing nature of the conflict, the Group’s findings account for only a fraction of the violations committed since September 2014 and should not be construed as suggesting that other violations did not occur. 4. In addition to highlighting State and institutional responsibilities, where possible the Group of Eminent Experts has identified individual alleged perpetrators, and prepared a strictly confidential list for submission to the High Commissioner for Human Rights. 2 5. In reaching factual conclusions that underpin its legal findings on violations, the Group of Eminent Experts has applied the same standard of proof as it has in previous mandate periods, that is, the “reasonable grounds to believe” standard. It has also adopted methodologies aimed at ensuring the safety and security of victims and witnesses. 6. The Group of Eminent Experts conducted over 400 interviews with victims, witnesses and other individuals and reviewed a significant number of documents, opensource material and additional secondary sources. In February 2020, the Group also issued an online call for submissions. 7. The Group of Eminent Experts faced a series of challenges and limitations. It regretted that, for a second consecutive year, it was not able to access Yemen and other coalition countries despite repeated requests. Following its previous practice, in June 2020, the Group addressed requests for submissions to the Government of Yemen, the de facto authorities and3 the southern transitional council, as well as to the Governments of Saudi Arabia, the Sudan and the United Arab Emirates, and reviewed the comments received from some parties 4 on findings the Group had outlined in its previous report 1 2 3 4 2 A conference room paper containing the detailed findings of the Group of Experts will be available at www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/YemenGEE/Pages/Index.aspx. That list is distinct from the mapping of main actors contained in the annex. The term “de facto authorities” is used only to refer to the authorities based in Sana’a, where Ansar Allah as a political movement is the main actor, supported by an armed group referred to as the “Houthis”. The Group does not include the southern transitional council operating in Aden and southern governorates in the term “de facto authorities”, notwithstanding that during part of the reporting period the Council acted as a de facto authority. The Government of Yemen (35th Armoured Brigade), the de facto authorities and the southern