Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Official Web Site
New York | Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Dr. Afrah Al-Zouba met on Wednesday with Vanessa Frazier, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation on protecting children and preventing grave violations against them.
Minister Al-Zouba reaffirmed the Yemeni Government’s commitment to preventing the recruitment and use of children and to continuing implementation of the 2014 Action Plan signed with the United Nations and the 2018 Roadmap, through the work of the Joint Technical Committee and by strengthening accountability for grave violations committed against children.
The Foreign Minister also reviewed the situation of children in areas under the control of the Houthi militias, including their recruitment and exploitation, as well as the use of schools and summer camps for indoctrination and recruitment. She stressed that the continuation of such practices poses a serious threat to children’s present and future.
Minister Al-Zouba also highlighted the difficulties in reaching children in Houthi-controlled areas and the restrictions imposed on their access to humanitarian and health services, including immunisation, and the resulting risks to their lives and health.
She underscored the importance of strengthening mechanisms for monitoring and verifying violations and ensuring the availability of accurate information to support policies and programmes aimed at preventing and addressing such abuses.
For her part, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict commended the Yemeni Government’s efforts to protect children and stressed the importance of continuing cooperation and coordination to end grave violations against children, prevent their recurrence, and safeguard their rights.
The meeting was attended by Yemen’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Abdullah Al-Saadi; Political Adviser to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Ambassador Marwan Ali Noman; and Sarah Al-Mashhari, a member of Yemen’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations.