UN Chief Faced Funding Cut-Off over Saudis: Sources
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Allies of Saudi Arabia piled pressure on UN chief Ban Ki-moon over the blacklisting of a Saudi-led coalition for killing children in Yemen, with Riyadh threatening to cut Palestinian aid and funds to other UN programs, diplomatic sources said.
The United Nations removed the coalition from a child rights blacklist - released last week - pending a joint review by the world body and the coalition of cases of child deaths and injuries during the war in Yemen.
That removal prompted angry reactions from human rights groups, which accused Ban of caving in to pressure from powerful countries. They said that Ban, currently in the final year of his second term, risked harming his legacy as UN secretary-general.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the sources said on Tuesday Ban's office was bombarded with calls from Persian Gulf Arab foreign ministers, as well as ministers from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), after the blacklisting was announced last week. One UN official spoke of a "full-court press" over the blacklisting.
"Bullying, threats, pressure," another diplomatic source told Reuters on condition of anonymity about the reaction to the blacklisting, adding that it was "real blackmail."
The source said there was also a threat of "clerics in Riyadh meeting to issue a fatwa against the UN, declaring it anti-Muslim, which would mean no contacts of OIC members, no relations, contributions, support, to any UN projects, programs."
Responding to the allegations, Saudi UN Ambassador Abdallah Al-Mouallimi said "we don't use threats or intimidation," and Riyadh was "very committed to the United Nations."
Mouallimi denied any threat of a possible fatwa.
“That’s ridiculous, that’s outrageous,” he said, adding that the meeting of Saudi clerics was to approve and issue a statement condemning the blacklisting of the coalition.
Several diplomatic sources said that the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) would be hit especially hard if the blacklisting were upheld.
In addition to Saudi Arabia, Dujarric said that Jordan, United Arab Emirates and Bangladesh contacted Ban's office to protest the listing of the coalition. Diplomats said Egypt, Kuwait and Qatar also complained to Ban's office.
The Saudi-led coalition includes Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Senegal and Sudan.
There was no indication that the United States or any other Western Saudi allies encouraged the UN to reverse the blacklisting of the coalition.
The UN report on children and armed conflict said the coalition was responsible for 60 percent of child deaths and injuries in Yemen last year, killing 510 and wounding 667.
