NEW YORK CITY: A senior UN official pressed the Houthis’ chief negotiator for an independent investigation into the death of a member of UN staff while in the custody of the militia.
It comes as the UN steps up its efforts to secure the release of dozens of its employees detained by the Iran-backed group in Yemen.
During a visit to Muscat from Nov. 8 to 10, Muin Shreim, who leads the UN’s regional outreach on the arbitrary detention of its personnel, met several senior Omani officials and Mohammed Abdulsalam, who heads the Houthi negotiating delegation in Oman, the UN’s deputy spokesperson, Farhan Haq, said on Wednesday.
The visit was part of the UN’s “ongoing diplomatic efforts to secure the release of its personnel who have been arbitrarily detained by the Houthi de facto authorities,” Haq added.
Shreim raised the recent death in detention of Mohammed El-Shami, a Yemeni employee of the UN Human Rights Office. He said there must be “an independent, transparent and thorough investigation.”
He also called on the Houthis to allow every detained member of UN staff to contact their families as soon as possible, and to remain in regular contact with them. He stressed that the UN needed reliable information about the safety and health of detainees, especially those with serious medical conditions.
