News briefing
Translated and edited by: Committee for Justice
Geneva: December 28, 2021
The Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, have expressed deep concern about the situation of two of their staff members, who have been held incommunicado by the de-facto authorities since last November, in Sanaa, Yemen.
In a statement published by the Media Center of the UN Human Rights Council Office in Geneva, the two confirmed that although the staff members are still in detention, the United Nations has not received any information about the charges against them or the legal justification for their detention, or even information about their current status, despite previous assurances by the Houthis of their immediate release.
OHCHR and UNESCO recalled the privileges and immunities granted to staff members of the United Nations system under international law, which are necessary for the proper performance of their official functions, and called for the immediate release of staff without the slightest delay.
