The UN “list of shame” over nations that violate child rights is looking
to sidestep its annual problem of the situation in Yemen by trying to avoid further mention of all the children killed in Saudi-led airstrikes there.
This has been a serious problem for the past several years with this
list, as early drafts mention Saudi Arabia, the Saudis freak out, and
the UN ultimately caves in and revises the report to omit them.
Last year, the compromise was to put Yemen in a whole separate section
which included a bunch of praise for the Saudis trying to reduce the
number of children they are killing and maiming. That section is to
remain intact.
Not everyone is happy with that, as the Saudi efforts to reduce killing
children isn’t actually reducing the number of children killed, so many
see this as just a cynical attempt to try to keep the Saudis placated.
Which it obviously is, but which officials prefer not to be called out
on.
UN to Avoid Faulting Saudis in Child Rights Violators List
Covering up Yemen violations is an annual headache for UN
Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
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