A/HRC/42/CRP.1 in his murder.547 At the time of finalizing the report, he had been transferred to Aden but had not yet been sent to trial nor had charges against him been made public. 548 Information gathered by the Group of Experts indicates that other suspects have also been identified by the authorities, although the Group was not able to confirm their whereabouts or the charges against them.549 362. Prior to the incident, the ICRC had reportedly brought its activities in al-Hawban, an area controlled by the Houthis where the ICRC Ta’izz office was located, to a halt due to several security and operational challenges. Also prior to the incident, an ICRC high-level delegation had reportedly undertaken550 a visit to Ta’izz city, to examine the scope for activities within the city. The ICRC did not resume its activities in Ta’izz following Lahoud’s murder. In June 2018, the organisation announced it was withdrawing 71 of its staff from Yemen and halting a number of its activities, stating: “The ICRC has been present in Yemen since 1962, but we are now seeing dangerous trends. Our current activities have been blocked, threatened and directly targeted in recent weeks, and we see a vigorous attempt to instrumentalize our organization as a pawn in the conflict. The ICRC holds all parties responsible for the security of its staff.” The statement specifically mentioned that while the ICRC had previously received threats in Yemen, it could not tolerate any additional risks less than two months after the killing of its delegate. Violations 363. As a rule of customary international humanitarian law, parties to the conflict must respect and protect humanitarian relief personnel551, who are already protected as civilians, as long as they do not directly participate in hostilities. This special protection is a corollary of the obligation to allow and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance to people in need.552 Intentionally attacking protected humanitarian relief personnel is a war crime. 553 364. The Group of Experts has reasonable grounds to believe that Hanna Lahoud was targeted in his capacity as an ICRC delegate, a deliberate attack on a humanitarian worker. The evidence available further indicates that the operation involved a party or parties to the conflict. The Group has until this point, however, not reached a conclusion with respect to determination of responsibility, partly because investigations remain underway by authorities. If the killing is determined by a competent authority to have been committed by a party to the conflict or on behalf of a party, it may lead to individual criminal responsibility for the war crime of intentionally attacking protected humanitarian relief personnel, as well as murder. 365. This incident also illustrates the wider pattern of violence and attacks that have affected humanitarian work in Yemen, and specifically in Ta’izz. Parties to the conflict in Ta’izz have continued to block and restrict the work of humanitarian organisations, 554 and such attacks have further narrowed the humanitarian space and the protection of civilians in Ta’izz. They are also a clear violation of the obligation of parties to allow and facilitate rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians in need. 7. Detention, enforced disappearances, torture and ill-treatment “Throughout my detention, of the 100 other detainees held with me, most had Bachelors degrees, Masters degrees, and PhDs and were from nursing and accounting backgrounds. I tried to find someone and ask who is from the frontlines but most were educated. They were all detained on false accusations." 547 Confidential Sources on File. Confidential Sources on File. 549 Confidential Sources on File. 550 Confidential Sources on File. 551 ICRC Study on customary IHL, rule 31. 552 ICRC Study on customary IHL, rule 55; Article 18 Additional Protocol II. 553 Article 8 2. (e)(iii) Rome Statute. 554 Confidential Sources on File. 548 87