Yemen conflict: UN accuses Saudis of pressure over blacklist

The UN said 1,168 children, more than 70% of them boys, were injured in the conflict in 2015

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says he faced "unacceptable" pressure to remove the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen from a blacklist over child casualties. 

Mr Ban said a number of countries had threatened to cut off vital funding for many UN programmes.

The UN attributed 60% of the 785 child deaths to the Saudi-led coalition, a figure it disputed

He said the decision to remove them from the UN list of violators of children's rights was "one of the most painful" he'd had to make. Saudi Arabia denies the threats.

The UN announced on Monday that it had temporarily removed the Saudi-led coalition from the child's rights blacklist which was published last week.


In his first public remarks following the announcement, Mr Ban said he decided to do so after Saudi Arabia along with some other Arab and Muslim countries threatened to cut off funding to UN humanitarian programs.

He said he "had to consider the very real prospect that millions of other children would suffer grievously if, as was suggested to me, countries would de-fund many UN programmes."

"It is unacceptable for member-states to exert undue pressure," Mr Ban told reporters at UN headquarters.
Human rights groups had sharply criticised the decision to take Saudis off the list, saying the UN chief's office had "hit a new low".