JEDDAH: King Salman Humanitarian Aid And Relief Center (KSRelief) held a seminar on Saturday entitled “Children and the Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen,” on the sidelines of the 40th session of the UN Human Rights’ Council in Geneva.
The delegation was headed by Dr. Abdullah bin Saleh Al-Moallem, director of KSRelief Health and Environmental Aid Department.
Al-Moallem highlighted the center’s international relief and humanitarian programs and said that more than four million women and six million children in Yemen suffer from a severe humanitarian crisis due to the continuous human rights violations, while the humanitarian situation has become more difficult and bitter.
Al-Moallem reviewed the center’s humanitarian contributions in alleviating the suffering of the most affected groups in Yemen, in line with international laws, that aim to reduce the effects of the violations committed by the Iran-backed Houthi militia, which have affected millions of children and women for nearly four years.
“One of the most prominent projects presented by the Kingdom and represented by the center, which is the largest donor in Yemen, is the rehabilitation center for children recruited by the Houthi militia under the age of 18 to integrate them into society and provide them with psychosocial and educational services by specialized experts,” he said.
Al-Moallem said that “we attended to convey the message of the suffering Yemeni citizens, especially the most vulnerable groups such as the women and children, from the terrorist practices of the Houthi militia,” adding that the militia uses child recruits in contradictions with all international conventions, including the Geneva Convention, the Rome Statute on War Crimes and the International Labor Law.
The international health expert Astrid Steckelberger said: “The humanitarian crisis in Yemen is one of the biggest crises in the world and the King Salman Relief Center has done a great job in Yemen, where about 328 projects worth $2 billion, the largest humanitarian contribution to Yemen, have been carried out.”
The international organizations in the symposium accused the Iranian-backed Houthi militia of recruiting and forcing children to fight and carry weapons, which is a clear violation of international conventions on the protection of the rights of children. They demanded the international community and the Human Rights Council to protect the children in Yemen.
The seminar reviewed the humanitarian situation in Yemen and assessed the international community’s position on the humanitarian crisis.
It also discussed the obstruction of humanitarian access by the Houthi militia, which controls 60% of the various relief items, and the impact of the humanitarian crisis on the children in Yemen.
Saudi Arabia’s KSRelief discusses children, humanitarian crisis in Yemen in Geneva
Saudi Arabia’s KSRelief discusses children, humanitarian crisis in Yemen in Geneva
National wildlife center launches training program for rangers
RIYADH: The National Center for Wildlife has launched a new training program to improve rangers’ skills in capturing, transporting and monitoring animals, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The program starts with “proper wildlife handling during transport, progressing through capture methods and post-release monitoring, and concluding with the evaluation of designated release sites,” the center said.
Its goal is to unify procedures for wildlife translocation and release, strengthen ranger readiness, ensure the environmental and administrative suitability of release sites, and enhance the overall efficiency of field implementation, the report said.
The training included visits to the King Khalid Wildlife Research Center, which is equipped with a veterinary clinic and laboratories, as well as a number of hands-on exercises.
The NCW said the program was part of its ongoing efforts to build specialized national competencies in wildlife management, reinforce reintroduction programs, safeguard biodiversity and contribute to more effective reserve management and the achievement of the Kingdom’s environmental sustainability goals.
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