Human Rights Watch criticizes Guterres for not listing Saudi Arabia in the “Shame List”

Human Rights Watch criticized the international human rights organization, the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, for not including the name of Saudi Arabia and

Human Rights Watch criticized the international human rights organization, the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, for not including the name of Saudi Arabia and the coalition it leads in the “Shame List” for violators of children’s rights despite “the continuing grave violations against children in Yemen.”

This came shortly after the Guterres report, released on Monday, on children and armed conflict in 2019, and it was devoid of the name of Saudi Arabia, which has been leading an alliance carrying out military operations in Yemen, since March 2015.

The organization accused through a statement, Guterres of “ignoring the violations of powerful countries, including Russia, the United States and Israel, by removing it from the list of shame.”

It added that Guterres “confirmed in his report the responsibility of the Saudi-led coalition for the deaths of 222 children in Yemen (during 2019), but removed them from the list of parties responsible for grave violations against children.”

The United Nations began issuing the “Shame List” (Black List) in 2002, and includes those responsible for grave violations of children’s rights, including: killing, maiming, recruitment, sexual violence, kidnapping, attacks against schools and hospitals, and denying humanitarian access to children.

The organization added that it also removed the armed forces in Myanmar, which recruit and use children as soldiers, and failed to include the Russian forces in Syria, the American forces in Afghanistan and the Israeli forces in the occupied Palestinian territories, despite the violations documented by the United Nations (in its report).”

Human Rights Watch considered that the Secretary-General’s approach to the list contradicts his call to work for human rights and raises questions about his commitment to publicly hold states accountable for repeated violations.