[04/09/2024 06:06]

NEW YORK - SABA
The Permanent Representative of Yemen to the United Nations, Ambassador Abdullah al-Saadi, affirmed the Yemeni government's commitment to securing and guaranteeing children's rights and enhancing opportunities for building a safe future for them.
He pointed out that areas under the control of the terrorist Houthi militias are witnessing the largest recruitment of children in human history.

In his speech on Yemen delivered today at the second session of 2024 for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Ambassador al-Saadi explained that the Houthi militias are recruiting tens of thousands of children and training them in summer camps before sending them to the frontlines, in flagrant violation of international norms, humanitarian law, and children's rights.
He noted that the militias are altering school curricula to align with their extremist ideologies, implanting concepts of violence, hatred, and terrorism in the minds of children, which threatens the security and stability of Yemen and the region, endangering the future of children.

He emphasized that support from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), as a key partner in alleviating the suffering of Yemeni children, who bear the brunt of the war waged by the terrorist Houthi militias against the Yemeni people and national consensus, has become more important and urgent in this difficult phase.

Ambassador al-Saadi addressed the catastrophic impacts of the war, which have led to the deterioration of the economic and humanitarian situation in Yemen, causing rising rates of poverty and malnutrition among children, along with food insecurity, and depriving more than 2.5 million children of education. He mentioned that recent climate disasters in Yemen have further complicated the humanitarian situation and hindered the efforts led by the Yemeni government to mitigate human suffering.

In this context, he called on the international community and United Nations agencies, particularly UNICEF, to enhance humanitarian support for Yemen to face the current challenges.

He stressed the necessity of securing sustainable funding to ensure the continuity of essential health and educational services for children at risk of deprivation from education and healthcare.

He pointed out that the substantial funding gap affecting the humanitarian response plan for Yemen in 2024 has had catastrophic impacts across various sectors, especially in health and education, threatening to deprive at least 600,000 children of essential vaccination services, healthcare, and efforts to combat the spread of diseases, epidemics, and malnutrition.

Ambassador al-Saadi also highlighted the tragic situation faced by Palestinian children amidst ongoing violations due to the brutal Israeli aggression in Gaza and the West Bank, along with the daily killings, torture, and displacement faced by Palestinian children before the eyes and ears of the world.

He called on the United Nations and the international community to stop this aggression and take immediate action to protect Palestinian children and ensure their rights to live with dignity and safety, like other children around the world.

---