GENEVA – Geneva Council for Rights and Liberties (GCRL) highlighted, in an oral statement in the Human Rights Council in Geneva, the serious impact of the Arab coalition war led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE in Yemen on children’s rights to enjoy a healthy environment in their country.
The oral statement, jointly with the International Institute for Rights and Development in Geneva, comes as a part of the interactive dialogue on the annual full-day meeting on the rights of the children, which was devoted this year to discuss the issue of the implementation of children’s rights through a healthy environment during the forty-fourth session of the Human Rights Council under agenda item 2, allocated to discuss the annual reports of both the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and, the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General.
The statement, delivered by the president of GCRL, Ms Lamia Fadla, appreciated what is stated in the report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the implementation of the rights of the child in a healthy environment and support all its recommendations, which call on all States to promote the right of every child to a safe environment and to incorporate it in constitutions and national legislation subsequently recognizing this right at the global level.
Ms Fadla underlined that talking about the promotion of children’s right to a healthy environment inevitably leads us to focus on the environment in which the children of Yemen are living after the conflict has destroyed entire towns and villages and left millions of them without safe shelter and schools, thus 7.8 million children are without access to education which puts children at greater risk of child labour, recruitment into armed groups and early marriage.
” Continued aggression and bombardment by the coalition forces led by Saudi Arabia for five years destroyed the infrastructure in Yemen and the displacement of a number of residential and commercial areas, as well as in some cases the destruction of the marine environment, Ms Fadla said.
” The war in Yemen has deprived the country of opportunities in the field of environmental projects, even though the children are the ones most affected by this devastating conflict. According to reports published by UNICEF, the number of malnourished children in Yemen is expected to reach 2.4 million by the end of this year, she added.
Ms Fadla pointed out that poor access to water and sanitation in Yemen contributed to the spread of the Corona pandemic, as almost 10 million children without proper access to water and sanitation.
In light of the above, Ms Fadla calls on the international community to intervene urgently in Yemen to provide food and medical aid to save the lives of children threatened by death and killer diseases.
We also recommend that the right of the child to a healthy environment in areas of armed conflict is given greater prominence in its future sessions.
full statement:
44th session of the UN Human Rights Council
Item 2: Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General.
Interactive dialogue
Thank you, Madam President,
Geneva Council for Rights and Liberties and the International Institute for Rights and Development in Geneva appreciate what is stated in the report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the implementation of the rights of the child in a healthy environment and support all its recommendations, which call on all States to promote the right of every child to a safe environment and to incorporate it in constitutions and national legislation subsequently recognizing this right at the global level.
Madam President, talking about the promotion of children’s right to a healthy environment inevitably leads us to focus on the environment in which the children of Yemen are living after the conflict has destroyed entire towns and villages and left millions of them without safe shelter and schools, thus 7.8 million children are without access to education which puts children at greater risk of child labour, recruitment into armed groups and early marriage.
Continued aggression and bombardment by the coalition forces led by Saudi Arabia for five years destroyed the infrastructure in Yemen and the displacement of a number of residential and commercial areas, as well as in some cases the destruction of the marine environment.
On the other hand, as a result of the war, Yemen has been deprived of opportunities in the field of environmental projects, even though the children are the ones most affected by this devastating conflict. According to reports published by UNICEF, the number of malnourished children in Yemen is expected to reach 2.4 million by the end of this year.
Poor access to water and sanitation in Yemen is also contributing to the spread of the Corona pandemic, as almost 10 million children without proper access to water and sanitation.
Madam President, We call on the international community to intervene urgently in Yemen to provide food and medical aid to save the lives of children threatened by death and killer diseases.
We also recommend that the right of the child to a healthy environment in areas of armed conflict is given greater prominence in its future sessions.
Thank you
Realizing the rights of the child through a healthy environment: Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Panel Discussion on a Healthy Enviornment –
3rd Meeting, 44th Regular Session Human Rights Council:
https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/Pages/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=26024&LangID=E
