UNITED NATIONS // Saudi Arabia’s deputy crown prince is due to meet UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday after the United Nations infuriated Riyadh by briefly blacklisting a Saudi-led coalition for violations against children in Yemen.
Prince Mohammed bin Salman wants to discuss the controversy involving the Arab coalition being placed on, and then removed, from a blacklist over the killing and injuring of about 1,200 children in the conflict in Yemen last year.
Saudi UN Ambassador Abdallah Al Mouallimi said the meeting had been confirmed for Wednesday.
Last week, Mr Ban said he temporarily removed the US-backed coalition from the blacklist for violating child rights pending a joint review of cases because its supporters threatened to stop funding many UN programmes.
Prince Bin Salman is currently visiting the US and met with President Barack Obama on Friday. They discussed ways to support Iraqis in their fight against ISIL and the importance of a political transition in Syria, the White House said.
In Washington, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Adel Al Jubeir said his country works hard to minimise civilian casualties in Yemen and uphold international humanitarian law.
“The air sorties that the kingdom and the coalition fly are recorded — both video and voice. We conduct after-damage assessments afterward,” he said. “We are confident that we have taken all necessary measures to minimise collateral damage or damage to civilians.”
“We do not target civilians. We are very careful about what targets we take out,” he said.
The report which led to the blacklisting said the UN verified a total of 1,953 youngsters killed and injured in Yemen in 2015 — a six-fold increase compared with 2014 — and it attributed about 60 per cent of those casualties to the coalition.
Some 142 child deaths and 247 injuries were blamed on the Houthis, who have also been accused of using large numbers of child soldiers.
The coalition, which includes the UAE, began an air campaign in March 2015 to defeat Iran-allied Houthi rebels and restore the internationally recognised government.
*Associated Press and Reuters