Saudi Arabia’s permanent representative at the United Nations Abdullah al-Mouallimi stated that the international organization’s recent report on Yemen was “inaccurate” and contained misleading information.
He told Asharq Al-Awsat that Riyadh will continue communication with UN officials in order to clarify their report, which accused the Saudi-led coalition of being responsible for the death and injury of 683 children in Yemen.
He added that the report relied on weak sources and that the UN did not put any effort into finding strong ones.
Once the facts and information are obtained from the ground in Yemen, the UN would be able to monitor the humanitarian situation there better, explained Mouallimi.
Yemeni Ambassador to the US Ahmed bin Mubarak echoed the Saudi accusations, adding that the UN based its report on the findings of groups that are biased and politicized in their work in Yemen. These groups are close to either deposed President Ali Abdullah Saleh or the Houthi militia.
He told Asharq Al-Awsat that the relief organizations that have been seized by coup forces in Yemen have sought to distort the facts and accuse the legitimate government and those aiding it of baseless charges.
“It is laughable to accuse the Yemeni government of recruiting children while the entire world witnesses child recruitment and has not lifted a finger to stop it,” he continued.
“The world has not condemned the recruitment of children and their use as human shields by the Houthis,” he noted.
Furthermore, the ambassador stressed that the Yemeni government set up, in cooperation with the King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Aid, a center for the rehabilitation of children in order to allow them to once again return to normal life.
He wondered why this fact was not included in the UN report.
