The UN has submitted to a Riyadh demand to remove the Saudi-led coalition from a blacklist of child rights violators, less than a week after it blamed the coalition for the killing of hundreds of Yemeni children.

The UN has submitted to a Riyadh demand to remove the Saudi-led coalition from a blacklist of child rights violators, less than a week after it blamed the coalition for the killing of hundreds of Yemeni children.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon said on Monday that he has accepted “a proposal by Saudi Arabia that the United Nations and the Saudi-led coalition review jointly the cases and numbers” cited in the report.

The Children And Armed Conflict (CAAC) report, published last Thursday, said the Saudi coalition was responsible for 60% of child casualties in Yemen last year, when it killed 510 children and injured 667 others.

“Pending the conclusions of the joint review, the Secretary-General removes the listing of the Coalition in the report’s annex,” Ban said, adding the decision was taken even though the report reflected “the highest standards of accuracy possible.”

Ban said he has invited Saudi Arabia to send a team to the UN headquarters for “detailed discussions” on the matter ahead of the Security Council’s discussion of the report scheduled to be held in August.

The CAAC report said that the Saudi military conducted half of its aerial attacks against schools and medical facilities.

“Grave violations against children increased dramatically as a result of the escalating conflict,” the report said.

Rights activists were furious, saying the decision cast doubt on the world body’s impartiality, and seemed to verify accusations of the UN's submission to Saudi pressure.

“After giving a similar pass to Israel last year, the UN Secretary-General’s office has hit a new low by capitulating to Saudi Arabia’s brazen pressure,” said deputy director for global advocacy at the Human Rights Watch Philippe Bolopion on Tuesday.

He said the UN’s move to remove Saudi Arabia from the blacklist was “whitewashed under pressure," adding the kingdom "firmly belongs on the list of shame.”
"Yemen’s children deserve better," he said.