Head of Save the Children : UK accused of failing to defend rights of Yemeni children against daily violations

January 25 | Yamanyoon

The British government should increase diplomatic efforts with Saudi Arabia to defend children facing a desperate situation in Yemen, the head of Save the Children has said.

Speaking on his return from Yemen, where the war and a sea blockade has pushed the country to the brink of famine, Kevin Watkins said there had been a “singular failure to deploy British soft power to defend children’s rights that are being violated on a daily basis”.

The conflict in Yemen has claimed at least 10,0000 lives, according to the UN. The organisation has urged a resolution to the conflict, which has created one of the world’s biggest humanitarian emergencies yet gone largely ignored by the international community.

Watkins, Save the Children’s chief executive, said he came across districts in which 40% of children were acutely malnourished, double the proportion recognised by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a food emergency. He said the time had come to “turn up the volume” on British efforts with the Saudis.