Spotlight: UN chief says removing Saudi coalition from blacklist for "undue pressure", Saudi denies

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said here on Thursday that he has to remove temporarily Saudi-led coalition from UN's blacklist of committing violations against children due to "undue pressure."

Ban told reporters here that he has to make the decision because he was threatened that countries would de-fund many UN programs because of accusations in his recent report on children and armed conflict.

On Monday, Ban removed Saudi-led coalition countries from the report's annex and accepted a proposal by Saudi Arabia that the UN and the coalition review jointly the cases and numbers cited in the text, according to a statement by Ban's spokesperson.

"This was one of the most painful and difficult decisions I have had to make," Ban told reporters.

"At the same time, I also 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 programs," he added.

However, Saudi Arabia Ambassador to the United Nations Abdullah Almouallimi on Thursday denied the allegations, saying they did not use threats or intimidation and did not talk about funding.

The UN has verified, last year in Yemen, a six-fold increase in the number of children killed and maimed compared with 2014, totaling 1,953 casualties, according to the secretary-general's annual report.

The report noted of the casualties, 60 percent -- namely 510 deaths and 667 injuries -- were attributed to the Saudi Arabia-led coalition, for which Almouallimi said the number was wildly exaggerated.

The security situation in Yemen has deteriorated since March 2015 when war broke out between the Shiite Houthi group, supported by former President Ali Abdullash Saleh, and the government backed by the Saudi-led Arab coalition.

The United Nations has been under fierce criticism for removing the coalition from the list. Amnesty International, a non-governmental organization, said it is unprecedented for the UN to bow to pressure to alter its own published report.

"Blatant pandering such as this undermines all of the UN's work to protect children caught up in war," said Richard Bennett, representative and head of Amnesty International's UN Office in a news release.

"I stand by the report," Ban told reporters here. "We will assess the complaints that have been made, but the content will not change."

"And when UN reports come under fire for raising difficult issues or documenting violations of law or human rights, Member States should defend the mechanisms and mandates that they themselves have established," said Ban. Endit