Reuters: Saudi Arabia's Name Included in UN Blacklist for Child Killings

On Tuesday, October 3rd, Reuters reported that the United Nations has included Saudi Arabia's name in its draft blacklist of those responsible for child killings in Yemen. This report, which is still in draft and confidential form, must be approved by the UN Secretary-General and is subject to change. The report that Reuters claims to have seen is set to be submitted to the UN Security Council this month, October, and will be discussed among the 15 members of the council on October 31. Last year, a similar report was prepared during Ban Ki-moon's tenure, but following the removal of Saudi Arabia's name from the blacklist, a controversy erupted, and several human rights and children's rights organizations accused the UN of politicization. In the previous report presented in June 2016, the Saudi-led military coalition was identified as responsible for 60% of child deaths and injuries in Yemen during the previous year. The report emphasized that during the coalition's attacks, 510 children were killed and 667 others were injured. However, just days after the release of this report, a spokesperson for the organization announced in mid-June that the coalition's name had been removed from the list for further investigations. Following this event, Human Rights Watch severely criticized Ban Ki-moon, accusing him of 'political fraud' and stating that he acted in response to Saudi Arabia's objections and suddenly changed his position. Now, Reuters reports that to prevent a repeat of last year's incident, the blacklist has been divided into two sections: groups that have made efforts to improve the situation of children and have taken actions, and groups that have made no effort. Saudi Arabia's name is included in the first group of this blacklist. This blacklist, which is attached to a comprehensive report on the situation of children in war zones, also mentions the Shia Houthi rebels of Yemen, the country's government forces, pro-government militias, and Al-Qaeda. The Shia Houthis, supported by the Islamic Republic of Iran, seized the Yemeni capital in 2014 alongside forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh. This action led to the onset of conflicts in the country that continue to this day, claiming the lives of over 8,500 people and sending nearly 50,000 to hospitals. A few months later, in January 2015, the then-President of Yemen, Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, fled the capital to Yemen's second-largest city, Aden, and declared it the 'temporary capital.' A year later, Saudi Arabia formed a coalition as a supporter of the ousted Yemeni president and entered the battlefield against the Houthis, with no signs of an end in sight. The mentioned report was prepared by the UN representative for children and war and sent in the name of Antonio Guterres. As Reuters states in its report, the publication of the UN report naming Saudi Arabia will not lead to any punitive action; rather, naming the parties involved 'is hoped to encourage actions for the protection and support of children.' According to the initial draft of this report, Reuters states that in 2016, the Saudi-led coalition was responsible for 683 cases of death and injury to children. Among these, half of the children were killed, and the others were injured.