Founded by Stefano Vaccara

Subscribe for only $6/Year
  • Login
  • Register

Editor in Chief: Giampaolo Pioli

VNY La Voce di New York

The First Italian English Digital Daily in the US

English Editor: Grace Russo Bullaro

  • English Edition
  • Letters
  • New York
  • U.N.
  • News
  • People
  • Entertainment
  • Arts
  • Lifestyles
  • Food & Wine
  • Travel
  • Sports
  • Italian Edition
No Result
View All Result
VNY
  • English Edition
  • Letters
  • New York
  • U.N.
  • News
  • People
  • Entertainment
  • Arts
  • Lifestyles
  • Food & Wine
  • Travel
  • Sports
  • Italian Edition
No Result
View All Result
VNY La Voce di New York
No Result
View All Result
in
U.N.
July 14, 2016
in
U.N.
July 14, 2016
0

Saudi Arabia Must Be Suspended from UNHRC

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch call on the UN to suspend the Saudis

Teddy OstrowbyTeddy Ostrow
Amnesty-International-Human-Rights-Watch

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch recent press conference at UNCA, the United Nations Correspondents Association, requesting the General Assembly to suspend Saudi Arabia from the Human Rights Council. (Ph: Teddy Ostrow/La Voce)

Time: 5 mins read

In a joint request to the UN General Assembly on June 29, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch demanded Saudi Arabia’s suspension from the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for its “gross and systematic violations of human rights” abroad (most recently in its military involvement in Yemen) and within its own borders. Additionally, the two humanitarian organizations are condemning Saudi Arabia for abusing its position on the UNHRC to sustain its obstruction of justice for human rights violations and war crimes.

The groups are requesting the General Assembly to vote with a two-thirds majority to remove Saudi Arabia from UNHRC membership until they cease human rights violations in Yemen and allow credible investigations into said violations.

“The credibility of the UN Human Rights Council is at stake. Since joining the Council, Saudi Arabia’s dire human rights record at home has continued to deteriorate and the coalition it leads has unlawfully killed and injured thousands of civilians in the conflict in Yemen. To allow it to remain an active member of the Council, where it has used this position to shield itself from accountability for possible war crimes, smacks of deep hypocrisy. It would bring the world’s top human rights body into disrepute,” said Richard Bennett, head of Amnesty International’s UN Office.

The Saudi Arabian-led coalition of nine Arab states was established to intervene and sway the outcome of the Yemeni Civil War shortly after it began in March of 2015. Historically, Yemen is divided between the Shiites who live mostly in the northeastern region of the country and the Sunnis who live in the southeast. The coalition, which includes Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, Sudan, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain, supports the internationally recognized Yemeni government of President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi who is fighting against the Iranian-backed Houthis, an armed Shiite-political insurgent movement.

From the beginning of the war till March of this year UNICEF found that of the 6,200 people killed, more than 3,000 of them were civilians and one third of those civilians were children. Additionally, with Yemen’s public services and infrastructure “on the verge of total collapse,” the report noted that since the war started 63 health facilities have been attacked or damaged contributing to the estimated 10,000 children under five who have died from preventable diseases due to lacking health services. With almost half of the nation’s provinces on the brink of famine, the UN reports that 82% of the Yemeni population is in dire need of humanitarian aid. 320,000 children face life-threatening malnutrition, UNICEF says.

According to Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, Saudi Arabia, in coordination with the U.S. and other Western allies, has played no small part in Yemen’s humanitarian devastation. The two organizations have documented 69 coalition airstrikes considered illegal under international humanitarian law. Some of them may be categorized as war crimes, having killed approximately 913 civilians, targeting homes, markets, hospitals, schools, civilian businesses, and mosques. 19 internationally banned cluster bomb attacks have also been documented, some of which were in civilian areas.

“What’s particularly shocking is the deafening silence of the international community which has time and again ceded to pressure from Saudi Arabia and put business, arms and trade deals before human rights despite the Kingdom’s record of committing gross and systematic violations with complete impunity,” said Bennett.

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have called for the United States, the UK, and France to halt their weapon sales to Saudi Arabia until they have ceased their unlawful airstrikes in Yemen and have credibly investigated their human rights violations. However, Saudi Arabia’s Western allies have not stopped selling the nation weapons as the coalition continues its ravaging operations. At the organizations’ UN press conference the day of the joint request the Executive Director of Human Rights Watch’s Middle East and North Africa Division Sarah Leah Whitson reported that these allies have also provided the coalition intelligence and targeting assistance. Despite numerous requests from humanitarian organizations, the Western allies involved have not released a report on the specific instances of their targeting assistance, she said.

In October of 2015, when strong evidence of the coalition’s war crimes started to emerge, Saudi Arabia exploited its membership to the Human Rights Council by pressuring countries to turn down a resolution that would establish an international investigation into the coalition’s alleged crimes in Yemen. Instead, they gathered support for their own vacuous resolution that called for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to assist a Yemeni commission of inquiry (backed by Saudi Arabia). The resolution does not even mention the Saudi Arabian-led coalition’s airstrike campaign, let alone the coalition itself. In other words, Saudi Arabia effectively blocked investigations into their military operations.

Additionally, in June Saudi Arabia threatened the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon with discontinuing their hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for significant UN programs, coercing him into removing the nation from the SG’s “List of Shame” for human rights violations against children in Yemen. Mr. Ban and other UN officials claim the decision was based on a revision to the UN’s annual children and armed conflict report, despite the fact that the Secretary General actually admitted to receiving “undue pressure” from the Saudis to remove them from the list. “Saudi Arabia has amassed an appalling record of violations in Yemen while a Human Rights Council member, and has damaged the body’s credibility by its bullying tactics to avoid accountability,” said Philippe Bolopion, Deputy Director for Global Advocacy at Human Rights Watch.

Not only does Saudi Arabia continue to commit human violations in Yemen unabated, but also within its own borders. The nation’s crackdown on dissent continues, executions have increased, and the systematic discrimination against women and the Saudi Shia minority community remains. Bennett stresses that “at home [the Saudi Arabian government] has carried out hundreds of executions, put children on death row after grossly unfair trials, and ruthlessly repressed opposition and human rights activists.”

What does this say about the legal and moral legitimacy of the international community and about the United Nations as an organization when Saudi Arabia can commit incredible violations without genuine and honest opposition? The irony of its position on the Human Rights Council only makes this tragic situation even more surreal. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have a clear message to the UN and Saudi Arabia’s allies: be courageous and condemn Saudi Arabia for its crimes.

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Teddy Ostrow

Teddy Ostrow

Teddy Ostrow is a student of American Studies at Columbia University and former intern at La Voce di New York. Twitter @TeddyOstrow Teddy Ostrow is a student of American Studies at Columbia University and former intern at La Voce di New York.

DELLO STESSO AUTORE

Migrant Caravan: Does the Mainstream Media Think We Can’t Handle the Truth?

Migrant Caravan: Does the Mainstream Media Think We Can’t Handle the Truth?

byTeddy Ostrow
The Media’s Fake News Hysteria is Edging Us Toward Censorship

The Media’s Fake News Hysteria is Edging Us Toward Censorship

byTeddy Ostrow

A PROPOSITO DI...

Tags: Amnesty InternationalBan Ki-moonHuman Rights WatchRichard BennettSarah Leah WhitsonSaudi ArabiaUNHRCUnicefUnited NationsYemen
Previous Post

Napoli è nemica di se stessa. Ma non stavolta

Next Post

Morte del boss Provenzano: l’inferno può attendere…

Discussion about this post

DELLO STESSO AUTORE

2018 Midterms: Searching for the Bigger Picture

2018 Midterms: Searching for the Bigger Picture

byTeddy Ostrow
MeToo, Kavanaugh & Nobel: October 5th’s Message to Sexual Assault Survivors

MeToo, Kavanaugh & Nobel: October 5th’s Message to Sexual Assault Survivors

byTeddy Ostrow

Latest News

Addio ad Alleva Dairy, l’Iconica Bottega Italiana a New York

Addio ad Alleva Dairy, l’Iconica Bottega Italiana a New York

byMaria Sole Campinoti
Biden a New York: dalla Casa Bianca $300 milioni per un tunnel sotto l’Hudson

Biden si rimette in marcia: prima tappa in Wisconsin per lavorare sul futuro

byMassimo Jaus

New York

Addio ad Alleva Dairy, l’Iconica Bottega Italiana a New York

Addio ad Alleva Dairy, l’Iconica Bottega Italiana a New York

byMaria Sole Campinoti
Il sindaco di New York prepara allo scontro col Madison Square Garden

Il sindaco di New York prepara allo scontro col Madison Square Garden

byPaolo Cordova

Italiany

La crisi dell’istruzione nel mondo: 2/3 dei bambini non capiscono cosa leggono

Master Fondazione Italia-Usa: altre 200 borse di studio “Next Generation”

byLa Voce di New York
World Pasta Day: negli USA sempre più Made in Italy grazie all’ICE

World Pasta Day: negli USA sempre più Made in Italy grazie all’ICE

byNicola Corradi
Next Post
Bernardo Provenzano

Morte del boss Provenzano: l'inferno può attendere...

La Voce di New York

Editor in Chief:  Giampaolo Pioli   |   English Editor: Grace Russo Bullaro

  • New York
    • Eventi
  • Onu
  • News
    • Primo Piano
    • Politica
    • Voto Estero
    • Economia
    • First Amendment
  • People
    • Expat
  • Arts
    • Arte e Design
    • Spettacolo
    • Musica
    • Libri
    • Lingua Italiana
  • Lifestyles
    • Fashion
    • Scienza e Salute
    • Sport
    • Religioni
  • Food & Wine
  • Travel
    • Italia
  • Mediterraneo
  • English
  • Search/Archive
  • About us
    • Editorial Staff
    • President
    • Administration
    • Advertising

VNY Media La Voce di New York © 2016 - 2022
Main Office: 230 Park Avenue, 21floor, New York, NY 10169 | Editorial Office/Redazione: UN Secretariat Building, International Press Corps S-301, New York, NY 10017

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • New York
  • Onu
  • News
    • Elezioni 2022
    • Primo Piano
    • Politica
    • Economia
    • First Amendment
  • Arts
    • Speciale Venezia
    • Arte e Design
    • Spettacolo
    • Musica
    • Libri
  • Lifestyles
    • Fashion
    • Scienza e Salute
    • Sport
    • Religioni
  • Food & Wine
    • Cucina Italiana
  • Travel
    • Italia
  • English
    • Arts
    • Business
    • Entertainment
    • Food & Wine
    • Letters
    • Lifestyles
    • Mediterranean
    • New York
    • News
  • Subscribe for only $6/Year

© 2016/2022 VNY Media La Voce di New York

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In
By clicking on "Create my account" or by registering, you accept the and the .

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?