The Yemen Accountability Project (YAP) at Case Western Reserve University School of Law has published its second white paper, “Starvation: Building the Case for Prosecuting Starvation Crimes in Yemen.” The 51-page document examines evidence from 2015 to 2018 that illustrates patterns of widespread attacks on civilian objects indispensable to survival, such as food production and water supply, and outlines avenues for bringing charges against perpetrators of these crimes.
This publication is the product of three years of work by the YAP team, and follows last year’s successful release of the white paper “Aiding and Abetting: Holding States, Corporations, and Individuals Accountable for War Crimes in Yemen.”
A white paper launch panel will be held on Monday, April 19, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Panelists Milena Sterio, professor of law and associate dean for faculty enrichment at Cleveland State University's Marshall College of Law, and Alex de Waal, executive director of the World Peace Foundation and a research professor at The Fletcher School at Tufts University, will join principal author and YAP executive director Laura Graham and YAP founder Prof. James Johnson. The group will explore avenues of accountability and the challenges of bringing charges against responsible parties. Registration for this event is available here.
The Yemen Accountability Project was established at CWRU School of Law in 2018 with support from the John F. and Mary A. Geisse Foundation. It began as a cooperative effort between legal scholars, non-governmental organizations, students, and other interested parties. The project’s members investigate and analyze open-source materials covering the Yemeni Civil War with a goal of facilitating the eventual prosecution of international crimes. James C. Johnson, YAP’s project advisor, is an adjunct professor of law and director of the Henry T. King War Crimes Research Office at Case Western Reserve University School of Law. In addition, Professor Johnson serves as chief prosecutor of the Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone.