A/HRC/42/CRP.1 886. The NCOI’s contribution in terms of analysis and fact-finding is indeed crucial in the fight against impunity in Yemen. It is therefore essential for the NCOI to be impartial in assessing the conduct of all parties, and effective in its investigations, with findings backed by a thorough legal analysis grounded in international law. The Group of Experts reiterates its offer to cooperate formally with the NCOI in order to work complementarily towards ensuring accountability for international law violations by all parties to the conflict and duty-bearers. (b) The coalition’s Joint Incidents Assessment Team (JIAT) 887. The Joint Incidents Assessment Team (JIAT) was established by the coalition in August 2016, with the support of the United States. 1424 Its mandate is to investigate alleged violations committed by the coalition during operations in Yemen. It should also “examine incidents of concern and identify lessons learned, including insight into patterns of civilian harm.” According to Human Rights Watch, “JIAT originally consisted of 14 individuals from the main coalition members. It has a mandate to investigate the facts, collect evidence, and produce reports and recommendations on ‘claims and accidents’ during coalition operations in Yemen.”1425 In their joint memo addressed to the Group of Experts on 8 August 2018, the permanent missions of Yemen, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates indicated that the JIAT included representatives of a number of coalition member States. The joint memo further advised that accountability is carried out in accordance with the laws applicable in respective coalition States, and that the Government of Yemen was, likewise, ensuring accountability. 888. An examination of the information available nevertheless raises concerns that the JIAT does not meet the criteria set by international law to ensure accountability. The lack of transparency remains the main obstacle to thoroughly assessing this mechanism. Independence and impartiality 889. According to information gathered by the Group of Experts, it appears that the JIAT, established by a royal decree, reports directly to the Minister of Defence of Saudi Arabia. This raises obvious concerns in terms of independence. Indeed, despite its request for related information, the Group of Experts has not received any information from the coalition that would allow it to assess how independence and impartiality could be guaranteed by the JIAT. This also raises strong concerns regarding respect for transparency as required by international law. Despite its formal requests to both the Government of Yemen and the coalition, the Group has not received any information about the methodology and process followed by the JIAT to select and review civilian casualty incidents. The Group specifically enquired about the grounds for determining that a formal investigation should be opened or that a case should be closed, and other measures of accountability in cases where prosecution is determined not to be appropriate. While it is known that the JIAT receives complaints from the NCOI, the United Nations and NGOs, little is known about the criteria for selection of the cases to be reviewed by the JIAT. Similarly, it is unclear how cases are selected to have their conclusions published in press releases, or whether any cases other than those published have actually been examined. The fact that there is no periodic compilation of the JIAT’s conclusions is problematic in the sense that there is no exhaustive public repository of findings and conclusions. This is a further issue in terms of transparency. Finally, the Group has not found any information as to a possible referral mechanism from the JIAT to the judicial system of Yemen, or to coalition member States. Thoroughness and credibility See Larry Lewis, “Promoting Civilian Protection during Security Assistance: Learning from Yemen”, CNA Analysis and Solutions, May 2019, p. 9 (https://www.cna.org/CNA_files/PDF/IRM2019-U-019749-Final.pdf). 1425 https://www.hrw.org/report/2018/08/24/hiding-behind-coalition/failure-credibly-investigate-andprovide-redress-unlawful. 1424 212