A/HRC/42/33 7. The presidential decrees and the internal regulations of the National Commission do not describe the process and criteria for the selection of the commissioners. In May 2016, the President of Yemen appointed four new commissioners following the resignation of three commissioners and the death of another. C. Secretariat 8. According to the information received from the National Commission, its Secretariat consists of 29 staff members, including 8 women, with different functions, namely human rights monitors, investigators, communications officers and administrative staff. 5 However, there was a lack of capacity in international humanitarian law among the staff. The headquarters of the Commission is in Aden, while 39 field monitors, including 10 women, are deployed in 20 governorates. D. Resources 9. International standards recommend that a commission of inquiry “shall be provided with transparent funding to ensure that its independence is never in doubt”.6 Article 6 of the 2017 financial regulations of the National Commission states that funding will be provided by “the Government of Yemen, voluntary contributions from other Governments and grants from international human rights foreign bodies”. There is no external oversight over the financial transactions of the Commission. E. Progress achieved by the National Commission and challenges 10. The National Commission has been facing considerable challenges since its establishment, including security and political constraints that have significantly impeded its ability to safely and freely conduct comprehensive investigations in accordance with its mandate. 11. The National Commission has been unable to access parts of the territory of Yemen. In particular, the de facto authorities have been unwilling to cooperate with it and to provide it access to the areas they control, on the grounds that it comprises members appointed by the Government of Yemen. Moreover, given the volatile environment, the interaction of members and staff of the Commission with victims and witnesses has been complicated by the difficulties in establishing solid protection mechanisms. 12. As noted, the National Commission is mandated to investigate and publish comprehensive reports on allegations of violations and abuses committed by all parties to the conflict in Yemen. Over the years, the Commission has strengthened the quality of its reporting. Between August 2016 and March 2019, it produced six reports, which are available in Arabic on its website (www.nciye.org). These reports have thus far documented more than 17,000 human rights violations and abuses perpetrated by the various parties to the conflict in Yemen. As illustrated in its sixth public report,7 published in March 2019, the Commission has increased its efforts to reflect violations and abuses committed by all parties and to attribute incidents, including to Houthi-Saleh forces, Arab coalition forces and drone warfare. 13. In its sixth report, the National Commission described its methodology, explaining that it considers the standard of proof to be met when it has obtained and corroborated a reliable body of information sufficient for it to conclude that there are reasonable grounds to believe that an incident has occurred as described and that violations were committed by the warring party identified. However, given the lack of access to the whole territory of 5 6 7 The National Commission shared with OHCHR a list of 29 Secretariat staff members and 39 field monitors appointed by the commissioners. Updated set of principles, principle 11 (a). Available in English at www.nciye.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Sixth-Report-NCIAVHR.pdf. 3