Arab coalition forces which support legitimacy in Yemen have emphasised that the inclusion of the coalition as a violator of human rights in the United Nations’ blacklisting report is a negative step and will weaken the efforts of the UN envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh.
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But the Saudi government said it was “wildly exaggerated” to claim that the coalition it leads was responsible for 60% of the child deaths and injuries in Yemen a year ago.
In the report, Ban blamed both sides for the killing but said that “grave violations against children increased dramatically as a result of the escalating conflict”.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International blasted Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon over the decision, accusing him of caving in to Saudi pressure and damaging the world body’s credibility.
“It is utterly shameful that the British government has sought to evade responsibility, denying the use of UK-supplied cluster munitions in Yemen by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition despite comprehensive and compelling evidence gathered by Amnesty International on the ground”, said Lama Fakih, Amnesty International’s Senior Crisis Response Advisor. Speaking to reporters outside the Security Council Monday, Riyadh’s United Nations envoy, Abdallah al-Mouallimi, said the document was “wildly inaccurate”.
However, Saudi Arabia’s version is different on this issue.
“In Yemen, owing to the very large number of violations attributed to the two parties, the Houthis/Ansar Allah and the Saudi Arabia-led coalition are listed for killing and maiming and attacks on schools and hospitals”.
“On the CAAC report, he accepts a proposal by Saudi Arabia that the United Nations and the Saudi-led Coalition review jointly the cases and numbers cited in the text”, the Secretary-General’s office said in a statement.
The Saudi-led coalition is using weapons and intelligence provided by the U.S. and U.K. American and British military officials, in fact, are physically in the room with Saudi bombers, and have access to a list of targets.
In Yemen it also blacklisted the Houthi group and forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, which have already featured on the annual list for the past five years.
“We take very seriously the protection of children in armed conflict in Yemen. and continue to urge all sides in the conflict in Yemen to protect civilians and comply with their obligations under global humanitarian law”, Toner said.
But while mass civilian casualties might get Saudi tipped for a blacklist, it appears they might not be enough to keep it there.
“The report was accusing the coalition and of course we are a part of it”, she said.
“The report is imbalanced and does not rely on credible statistics, nor does it serve the Yemeni people”, coalition spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed Assiri told the official Saudi Press Agency. “We know that this removal is final”, he said, adding that the casualty toll given in the report was “exaggerated”.
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The UN left Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas off the blacklist in its 2014 report, after they had been included in an earlier draft.
