Radhya Al-Mutawakel

Radhya Al-Mutawakel is a human rights defender and the Yemeni co-founder and chairperson of Mwatana Organisation For Human Rights,[1] an independent organisation working to defend and protect human rights in Yemen. Al-Mutawakel and Mwatana's recent work has focused on documenting alleged human rights abuses by all parties to the current conflict in Yemen, including by the United States, the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthi forces.[2] She has briefed the UN Security Council on the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, becoming the first person to do so, and has written widely and appeared in a range of media outlets, including Vice News,[3] the Guardian,[4] and The New Internationalist,[5] talking about human rights violations during the conflict.

Radhya Al-Mutawakel
Radhya al-Mutawakel on 11 September 2017
NationalityYemeni
OccupationHuman rights defender, activist, organisational leader
Known forHuman rights activism, documenting violations of international humanitarian law, advocacy and campaigning on human rights
Spouse(s)Abdulrasheed Al-Faqih
AwardsColumbia Law School Global Advocate Award, won jointly with Abdulrasheed Al-Faqih Gulf Centre for Human Rights, Human Rights and Freedom of Speech Defender for October 2017

Al-Mutawakel was named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People of 2019.[6]

Early career

Between 2000-2004 Al-Mutawakel worked for the National Commission for Women in Yemen, where she was responsible for public relations and women's participation in political processes.[7]

In 2004 she began working on Yemeni human rights, initially with the Organisation for the Defence of Rights and Freedoms.[8] During this period her work was focused on human rights violations in the context of the Sa'adah conflict in northern Yemen, with a focus on the enforced disappearances and arbitrary arrests that took place during the war.

Founding and work with Mwatana Organisation for Human Rights

Al-Mutawakel and her husband Abdulrasheed Al-Faqih[9] founded Mwatana in 2007. Its stated aim is "defending and protecting human rights...through field investigations and research to produce accurate and objective accounts of the facts regarding its mission in order to detect and stop human rights violations."[10] Mwatana has teams of field researchers in 18 Yemeni governorates and employs more than 60 people, half of whom are women.

Between 2007 - 2010, Al-Mutawakel continued to focus on human rights violations in the context of the ongoing Sa'adah conflict, including violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law; and arbitrary arrests and detentions.

In 2013, Al-Mutawakel and Mwatana collaborated with Open Society Foundations to produce a joint report entitled "Death by Drones"[11] which included research and monitoring of the damage and civilian deaths caused by nine US drone strikes in five Yemeni governorates - Sana'a, Marib, Dhamar, Hadramout, and al-Baidha - between May 2012 and April 2014.[12]

In 2017, Al-Mutawakel undertook an advocacy tour which included visits to the US, UK, Switzerland, and other European countries, to speak about the conflict in Yemen and the human rights violations committed by all parties to the conflict, and to seek to engage different nations to bring an end to the conflict.[13] During the tour, on 30 May 2017, she briefed the UN Security Council on the conflict in Yemen, becoming the first Yemeni women to ever brief the Security Council.[14]

Participation in the Columbia Law School 'Practitioner-in-Residence' Program and awarding of "Global Advocate Award"

In mid-2017 Al-Mutawakel and Al-Faqih participated in Columbia Law School Human Rights Institute's 'Practitioner-in-Residence'[15] program.[16] During their residency the pair led workshops on subjects including on fact-finding strategies during conflict; strategies for regional advocacy; and the violations of international humanitarian law during the conflict in Yemen. They also held numerous meetings with US-based NGOs, diplomatic and UN actors, and Al-Mutawakel briefed the UN Security Council. The pair were also given the "Global Advocate Award" 2017.[17]

Advocacy at the UN

On May 30, 2017 Al-Mutawakel briefed the UN Security Council on the conflict in Yemen. She made a series of calls which echoed those being made by Mwatana and others in a variety of forums.[18][19][20]

The calls included:

  • To establish an international independent commission of inquiry to investigate violations by all parties to the conflict;
  • Stop the sale of weapons to parties involved in violations of human rights in Yemen;
  • End the targeting of civilians and civilian objects through aerial and ground attacks;
  • Ensure the release of all forcibly disappeared or arbitrarily detained civilians;
  • Allow unhindered humanitarian access to all areas and people in need.[21]

Awards
  • Gulf Centre for Human Rights and Freedom of Speech defender for October 2017 - won.[22]
  • Columbia Law School, Human Rights Institute Global Advocate Award - won jointly with Abdulrasheed Al-Faqih.

References
  1. "Mwatana for Human Rights". mwatana.org. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  2. "European responsibility for war crimes in Yemen". www.ecchr.eu. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  3. "This Was the Year Yemen Was Destroyed | VICE News". VICE News. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  4. al-Mutawakel, Radhya (11 September 2017). "I've seen how arms sales fuel deadly suffering in Yemen. We must stop them | Radhya al-Mutawakel". the Guardian. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  5. "Human rights in the Yemeni Civil War: a word with Radhya Almutawakel". New Internationalist. 5 April 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  6. "Radhya Almutawakel: The 100 Most Influential People of 2019". TIME. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  7. "Gulf Centre for Human Rights". Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  8. "yemen organization". www.hurryat.org. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  9. "Abdulrasheed Al-Faqih".
  10. "About | Mwatana for Human Rights". mwatana.org. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  11. "Death by Drones" (PDF). Open Society Foundation.
  12. "Civilian Casualties and Effectiveness of U.S. Drone Strikes in Yemen". Just Security. 3 April 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  13. "An Overview on the World of Trump: 'A Yemeni Perspective' |". harvardhrj.com. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  14. "Yemen Chronology of Events : Security Council Report". www.securitycouncilreport.org. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  15. "Columbia Law School Human Rights Practitioner in Residence program" (PDF).
  16. "Human Rights Institute Honors Yemeni Human Rights Leaders". Columbia Law School. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  17. "Radhya Almutwakel - NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security". NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  18. "Yemen: Urgent Need for International Inquiry - Joint NGO letter to the UN - Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies". cihrs.org. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  19. "57 NGOs Call for an Independent International Inquiry into Rights Abuses in Yemen". Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain. 29 August 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  20. "Yemen 2016 US Embassy Human Rights Report" (PDF).
  21. "UN Security Council report 30th May 2018" (PDF).
  22. "Gulf Centre for Human Rights". Retrieved 20 May 2018.
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