Saudi-led coalition in Yemen removed from U.N. blacklist of parties killing children

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday removed a Saudi Arabia-led military coalition from a U.N. blacklist, several years after it was first named for killing and injuring children in Yemen.

Guterres wrote in his annual report to the U.N. Security Council on Monday that the coalition would “be delisted for the violation of killing and maiming, following a sustained significant decrease in killing and maiming due to air strikes” and the implementation of measures aimed at protecting children.

The annual children and armed conflict report is produced at the request of the U.N. Security Council.

Yemen has been mired in conflict since the Iran-allied Houthi group ousted the country’s government from the capital Sanaa in 2014. The Saudi-led military coalition in 2015 intervened in a bid to restore the government.

The U.N. report does not subject those listed to action but rather shames parties to conflicts in the hope of pushing them to implement measures to protect children. It has long been controversial with diplomats saying Saudi Arabia and Israel both exerted pressure in recent years in a bid to stay off the list.

Countries or groups can be blacklisted for killing, injuring or abusing children, abducting or recruiting children, denying aid access for children or targeting schools and hospitals.