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Yemeni grave diggers burying civilian casualties after Saudi airstrike.
Yemeni grave diggers burying civilian casualties after Saudi airstrike.
Saudi Arabia, a country notorious for its draconian laws and neglect of basic human rights, became a member of the panel in 2013 amid harsh backlash from international community. Since then Riyadh has interfered in the simmering civil war in neighboring Yemen, conducting military operations that claimed thousands of civilians' lives. "The Saudi-led coalition has launched scores of airstrikes which appear to have deliberately targeted civilians, including hospitals, schools, markets, mosques, and so on. They also have used internationally banned cluster munitions," Richard Bennett, the head of Amnesty International's UN office, told Radio Sputnik.
On Thursday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon requested that Saudi Arabia provide proof on the "concrete actions" they have taken to prevent minor's deaths in Yemen. According to Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC) annual report, some 60% of children deaths in Yemen in 2015 were caused by Saudi-led coalition's air attacks. However, that data hasn't resulted in any particular steps to sanction Riyadh's actions.
The fact that Riyadh enjoys unconditional support from the UN and the UK is based on economic considerations. London seems to be ready to turn a blind eye on horrifying human rights abuses - that under some estimates escalate to the level of war crimes - in exchange for arms deliveries to the country. During first three months of Saudi-led bombings of Yemen, the UK increased its supplies to the country 100 times, the Independent reported. The revenues for Britain in this period jumped from1 billion pounds to 9 billion.
Comment: Surely there is a council more appropriate for the Saudis to chair. Let's see: Is there a UN Human Wrongs Council? UN Human Atrocities Council? The UN was threatened and 'prepaid' to look the other way. And it did. For the UK, it is just busine$$ as usual.