Inside Story

Do reports on atrocities serve any purpose?

The Saudi-UAE-led coalition fighting a war in Yemen admits it made a ‘mistake’ with a deadly air raid on a school bus.

Fifty-one people, including 40 children, were killed when the bus was struck on August 9 in Sadaa province.

The Saudi-UAE-led coalition now says the attack was “unjusitified” and is promising to hold those responsible to account.

But who has the power to hand out punishments for such atrocities in Yemen and elsewhere?

Human Rights Watch called the air raid on the bus an “apparent war crime” and is calling for an end to all weapons sales to Saudi Arabia.

The UN has published several significant reports on conflicts around the world. It’s recommended top military figures in Myanmar to face genocide charges over their campaign against the Rohingya in Rakhine state.

The Assad government has been accused of using chemical weapons on a number of occasions during the Syrian war, and South Sudanese government forces have been accused of potential war crimes for a campaign of rape and killing that targeted civilians in opposition-held villages.

And in one of the UN’s most controversial reports, Judge Richard Goldstone accused both Israel and Hamas of war crimes in Gaza in 2008.

Presenter: Hoda Abdel-Hamid

Guests:

Bill Van Esveld – senior researcher for the children’s rights division at Human Rights Watch

Baraa Shiban – Middle East and North Africa caseworker at Reprieve

Afrah Nasser – senior non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council