Yemeni Foreign Minister Hisham Sharaf has on Saturday condemned the decision of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, not to include the Saudi-led aggression coalition in the list of violators of children’s rights, while deliberately and shamefully including Ansarullah in the list.
The Foreign Minister pointed out that although the United Nations is entrusted with the defence of basic human rights, including children, as stated in its charter, it turns a blind eye to the targeting of populated civilian areas by the aggression coalition countries, that have killed and wounded about 8,000 children since March 26, 2015.
He noted that the aggression coalition countries and their loyalists have recruited thousands of children and plunged them into battles, targeted schools and hospitals, and impeded humanitarian access, in addition to other grave violations of children’s rights.
“Guterres did not take into account the appeals made by dozens of regional and international human rights organisations in this context, ignoring all reports and video and documented data about the coalition aggression’s targeting of population centers,” Sharaf said.
He stressed that the UN Secretary-General’s decision represents the final nail in the coffin of the mechanism established by the Security Council to deter violators of children’s rights in various countries of the world.
The Foreign Minister reiterated that the National Salvation Government respects its obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law to protect and promote the rights of Yemeni children, and to not to involve them in any military actions.