Calls for an independent investigation into alleged breaches of humanitarian law in Yemen were stepped up on Monday when the Dutch government requested an inquiry at a meeting of the UN human rights council in Geneva.

The British government has said it has not yet ruled out supporting such an inquiry, but may follow the lead of Saudi Arabia and other Arab states which will resist the call.

Roderick van Schreven, the Dutch permanent representative to Geneva, told the council that he wanted to “reiterate our grave concern about the ongoing and deepening crisis in Yemen”.

“The gravity of alleged violations of human rights and international humanitarian law over the last year cannot be ignored and international comprehensive investigations of all violations committed by all parties is now called for,” he said.

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Diplomatic sources said it was too early to say if a formal amendment calling for an independent inquiry will be tabled by European nations in the next week at the human rights council, or if the issue will be shelved.

Saudi Arabia intervened in March 2015 to support the Yemeni government against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in control of the capital, Sana’a. The UN has put the death toll of the 18-month war at more than 10,000 – with 3,799 of them being civilians.

A Dutch appeal at last year’s human rights council for such an international inquiry was diluted after pressure from the UK and others led to it instead saying the issue should be examined by a Yemeni national commission.

Critics claim violations of international humanitarian law have worsened in the past 12 months. Data from the Yemen Data Project – and reported by the Guardian – indicated last week that more than a third of airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen have hit civilian sites.

Human rights groups say violations are also being perpetrated by Houthi rebels, including the use of landmines and indiscriminate shelling. Human Rights Watch noted this year that Yemeni civilians had “suffered serious laws of war violations by all sides”.

Three British Commons parliamentary committees last week called for an independent UN-led inquiry, and the call has been echoed by the UN high commissioner for human rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein.

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In his opening address to the council last week, he said: “The national investigation effort has not been able to provide the impartial and wide-ranging inquiry that is required by serious allegations of violations and abuse.”

Philip Luther, director of Amnesty International Middle East, said that member states “needed to show that the human rights council is not a political tool that will bend to states’ will. States, including the USA, UK and France, which all have economic and security interests in Saudi Arabia, which is leading a military coalition in Yemen, must support an investigation capable of establishing the truth about allegations of violations by all sides to the conflict and ensuring justice for victims and their families.

“They must have the courage to commit publicly to supporting an international inquiry. Failing to do so would damage the credibility of the human rights council and undermine the appeal from the high commissioner. It would also send a message that the world is turning its back on the suffering of civilians in Yemen.”