Advisor to the Royal Court and General Supervisor of the King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Action Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Rabia'ah said that all Yemeni crossings controlled by the legitimate government are open to humanitarian assistance to Yemen, pointing out that the Kingdom offered the port of Jizan to be used for also for the same purpose, in addition to other crossings for delivery of relief and humanitarian aid to Yemen. Speaking at a high-level meeting of the Partnership for Permanent Peace, in Yemen, which took place in Rome today, Al-Rabia'ah condemned the attacks launched by the Houthi militias on United Nations organizations aid, relief organizations and workers between 2015 and 2017, citing 16 cases of aggression, including killing, kidnapping, imprisonment, closing offices, looting and robbery, closing the ports and offices of international organizations operating, in Yemen. They attacked and seized 65 ships, 124 relief convoys and 628 aid consignments, in violation of humanitarian action and laws, he added. Stressing Houthi militias disrupting of humanitarian efforts and targeting residential neighborhoods, humanitarian aid and humanitarian teams and tightening the siege on civilians, he pointed out the importance of the United Nations and international community in shouldering their responsibilities to account for excesses of militias that hinder humanitarian action and target civilians, in Yemen. The Center has not failed to provide assistance despite all the violations targeting assistance provided by its teams and other teams working on the ground, he stated, adding that the Center is well aware of its humanitarian role and is working diligently to provide humanitarian services to the Yemeni people, in order to help in overcoming current crisis. He also reviewed all the efforts made by the Kingdom for the sake of the Yemeni people, over the two years and what it seeks to provide during the coming period, despite difficulties facing it. The total assistance provided by the Kingdom to Yemen from April 2015 to October 2017 amounted to $ 8.27 billion, indicating the center carried out specific operations, such as airdrops of food and medical aid, in Taiz and breaking the siege imposed by the coup militias. Dr. Al-Rabia'ah said that the center implemented 161 projects in all regions of Yemen through 86 local and international partners, including food security, nutrition, housing, health, community support, environmental sanitation and other projects. The Center provided Yemeni children with 80 projects in the fields of education, protection, food security, health, nutrition, water and environmental sanitation, as well as allocation of programs for Yemeni women through 68 projects, in the areas of protection, education, food security, health and sanitation, environment, nutrition and personal hygiene. Dr. Al-Rabiah stressed that all international and human rights laws prohibit and criminalize use of children as tools of war or using them as human shields, he drew attention. Houthi militias have recruited more than 20,000 innocent Yemeni children, according to human rights reports, noting that the center now numbers 2,000 children recruited by the Houthi militias. The Kingdom has made great efforts to curb the spread of cholera, in Yemen, he said, adding that he Ministry of Public Health, the Yemeni population, the World Health Organization and UNICEF have provided Yemen with more than $ 76 million, in this respect. The center also has run a large convoy carrying more than 550 tons of medical appliances and solutions for all areas of Yemen, to fight the epidemic, indicating that percentage of the net has reached 99.5%, prompting many organizations working on land to close their centers of cholera treatment, in some areas. He concluded by calling on United Nations organizations and other humanitarian organizations operating, in Yemen to decentralize humanitarian work away from relying on one city for its headquarters, in Yemen.
