SRI SRI MODEL UNITED NATIONS 2020

UNITED NATIONS

GENERAL ASSEMBLY

(Plenary Meeting)

STUDY GUIDE

SSMUN’20 UNGA 2

SSMUN 2020 STUDY

GUIDE

United Nations General Assembly (Plenary Meeting)

-

Eradicating the current emergency at Yemen with

regards to child rights protection

INDEX Serial No. Topic Page No.

1 Background 4 & 5

2 Violation of Child Rights 5, 6 & 7

3 Role of Houthis 7 & 8

4 Role of Saudi Arabia 8

5 Role of UAE 8 & 9

6 Role of United States of

America

9

7 Role of Iran 10

8 Impact of Intervention 10

9 Update 11

10 Contact the EB 12

SSMUN’20 UNGA 3

Remark from the Chairperson

Dear Delegates,

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you all to the United Nations

General Assembly at the Fifth edition of Sri Sri Model United

Nations. The crisis in Yemen has had devastating effects on the

region and especially on the living conditions of children. Yemen is

described as “the living hell for children”. As of today, around 12

million children are in need of humanitarian assistance. The delegates

should be prepared to come up with sensible and most humane

solutions for the protection of child rights amidst such a situation of

crisis. This guide shall be an aide to your research but research

shouldn’t be restricted to this guide only.

Along with me I shall be having Rahil Shah to progress debate in

committee and keep things running for the three days of the

Conference. Your Dais is very excited to meet all of you and see how

you will fill out your seat on the UNGA and tackle issues important to

eradicate the current emergency at Yemen with regards to child rights.

If you have any questions or concerns on the topics, the rules of

procedure or the committee in general, please feel free to contact us.

Regards,

Tarushee Agarwal.

Chairperson.

SSMUN’20 UNGA 4

Background

Background Yemen is dealing with the largest humanitarian crisis in

the world. Everything is on halt. People don’t have access to basic

things, which include food, clothing, shelter etc. The protests in

Yemen started in the year 2011 against President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

He was the President of Yemen for 33 years. People wanted a new

leader and therefore, forced him to resign. The protests were

worsening day by day so Mr Saleh publicly announced that he will

not be contesting for 2013 elections neither he will hand over the

position to his son. The civilians were not satisfied with his decision

and wanted Mr. Saleh to resign immediately. Looking at the

condition, Gulf Co-operation Council decides to mediate and put an

end to the crisis. Saleh agrees to sign by the end of April, 2011. In the

beginning of May, Saleh refuses to sign the deal and as a result,

protests broke out in different parts of Yemen. On 3rd June, a bomb

exploded in Presidential Palace where President Saleh was present.

He was badly injured and was taken to Saudi Arabia for treatment. At

last in the month of November, President Saleh and GCC came to a

mutual consensus in the month of November where Saleh agrees to

transfer the position. On February, 2012 former Vice President

Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi became the president. Mr Hadi failed to deal

with multiple problems which include attacks by militants, food

problems, corruption, unemployment etc. The Houthi Movement

which had fought a series of rebellions against President Saleh during

his rule. The Houthis took the advantage of President Hadi's weakness

by taking control of their northern heartland of Saada province and

neighbouring areas. The Houthis allied with Saleh and wanted to

takeover entire Yemen in order to regain power. As a result, President

Hadi was compelled to flee abroad with the members of his

government. On 22nd January, 2015 President Hadi gave his

resignation. However, on 21st February he flees to Aden and says that

SSMUN’20 UNGA 5

He continues to be the President. Yemen is going through one of its

worst times. With more than 24 million people, about 80% civilians

are suffering. It needs humanitarian assistance. More than 12 million

children are deprived of their basic necessities which include

schooling, food, shelter and primarily health facilities. Approximately

7.8 million children cannot go to school. Due to the increase in

number of COVID 19 case many children could develop life

threatening severe acute malnutrition over the next six months, while

the overall number of malnourished children under the age of five

could increase to a total of 2.4 million.

Violation of child rights

The situation of the children in Yemen is worsening day by day. They

are deprived of some of the basic necessities, which include food,

clothing, shelter, schooling, hygiene facilities etc. The fatality rate of

children is very high. Many new born babies show inadequate weight

at birth of about 30 %. The rate of malnutrition is increasing day by

day. Children aging between 2 and 5 suffer from serious retardation.

Due to lack of medical facilities, births often happen outside hospitals

or medical centres. Furthermore, poor infrastructure is leading to

more problems.

Child Labour - Yemen’s first ever national child labour survey shows

that 17% of Yemen’s 7.7 million children aging between 5-17 and 11

% of those aged 5-11 are involved in child labour. More than 1.3

million children are involved in child labour. Children are compelled

to work, sexually assaulted and are treated as slave.

Child trafficking – Unfortunately, the trade of children still persists in

Yemen. In some cases, the family itself puts their children in

SSMUN’20 UNGA 6

trafficking circuit. In recent years, there has been a rise in the number

of child sexual harassment and child pornography. In some cases,

organs have also been transferred without one’s permission.

Child marriage – According to some reports more than two third of

young girls, marry before the age of 18. Some parents marry of their

daughters to be relieved of the cost on their care or the husband’s

family can protect them in a better manner. Some girls get pregnant at

the age of 15 -16 which lead to severe problems and in some cases the

girl may die because of their age. These children don’t choose their

husbands, they are compelled to marry. These girls are physically

assaulted and, in many cases, it has been seen that there is a huge

disparity between the age of the husband and wife.

Children and armed conflict – Children under the age of 18 have been

treated as soldiers. More than 3000 children have been recruited as

soldiers. According to UN, 729 children were killed or injured by

Saudi-led coalition, 398 children were killed or injured by the

Houthis, and the Yemeni government’s forces were responsible for 58

child casualties.

Refugee Children – Many people look for these refugee camps for

the purpose of security. As the northern region of the country was

engaged in war, people wanted a better and peaceful place to live.

Health has been a major setback in these camps. Cases of malnutrition

are increasing day by day and unfortunately not everyone can have

access to education.

Children used as Human Shields – Children in Yemen have been used

as human shields. Children are forced to dress in army clothes and as

a result get killed. According to some reports, 200 children were

SSMUN’20 UNGA 7

killed because the Houthis had recruited these orphans. The children

who are detained are often used as shield against attacks by military

and are at times tied to building and other structures to protect them

from being damaged.

Role of Houthis

The Houthi movement is one of the primary reasons, why the civil

war in Yemen had uplifted. There were protests all around Yemen,

Houthis being one of the parts of those protests. The Houthis had

aimed to create new and stable government in Yemen after former

President Saleh started losing people’s confidence. Houthis and some

other groups took the advantage of President Hadi’s weakness and

started to take over the control which compelled Mr Hadi and his

fellow government to flee abroad. They had allied with former

President Saleh and started to capture different places in Yemen.

Involvement in Arab Spring – Protests broke out in different parts

of Yemen, Houthis playing a major role in it. President Saleh was

compelled to resign in 2012 transferring the power to Mr Hadi who

was the Vice President during Saleh’s time. Houthis had the military

power and wanted to expand their territory. In the year 2014, Houthis

allied with former President Saleh which encouraged them and seize

the capital, Sanaa. Mr Hadi and the members of his government were

forced to flee abroad.

Civil War – Sanaa and Hodeida, a Red Sea port through which

import took place. They had conquered these two places but never

stated governance goals for Yemen. Houthis realized that Mr Saleh

was going to switch parties and therefore, in order to avoid further

problems in their plan, they had killed Mr Saleh

SSMUN’20 UNGA 8

Relation with Iran – Iran had increased the supply of missiles, guns

and other armed materials for Houthis since 2014. There has been

difference in opinion among these two, for example a demand not to

take over Sanaa in 2014. Houthis have been accused of killing

journalists and other civilians. Especially the minorities, primarily the

Jews.

Role of Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia has been playing a very important role in Yemen crisis.

In the year 2015, Mr Hadi was forced to leave Yemen and had to take

help from Saudi Arabia and UAE. Saudi Arabia on 26th March, 2015

led a coalition of nine countries from West Asia and North Africa.

They had bombed Houthi camps and other places captured by them.

The military intervention of Saudi Arabia had killed many innocent

people as a result; Houthis have been launching missiles regularly.

The Saudi Air strikes have damaged public property. Only half of the

country’s hospitals and medical installations are working because of

the bombing. In the month of April, Saudi Arabia had proposed to

enter a ceasefire. It has been facing its own humanitarian crisis due to

the pandemic and the fall in the oil price.

Role of UAE

UAE on 26th march 2015 along with the Saudi Arabia intervened into

Yemen. UAE and Saudi announced self-rule in southern Yemen and

backed the STC (southern transitional council). UAE’s action in

SSMUN’20 UNGA 9

Yemeni and coalition troops reduced the expansion of the Houthis in

the southern and eastern governorates moreover through its

operational command on a number of forefronts, helped to liberate

Aden through Operation “Golden Arrow” in July 2015 and Mocha in

January 2017 through Operation “Golden Spear”. These efforts have

not only reduced the Houthis’ control and presence on the Red Sea

and the Gulf of Aden, but they have also mitigated threats to coastal

security. The actions of UAE have been successful but their robust

actions are at times harmful for the civilians. the air strikes conducted

by the UAE killed and wounded about 300 civilians and 30 of its

forces according to the Yemen’s defence ministry.

Role of United States of America

The United States of America has played a vital role in Yemeni crisis.

Being a close ally of Saudi Arabia, it has been providing the Saudi led

alliance with intelligence, weapons etc. In the year 2015, USA had

approximately 100 military advisers in Yemen supporting the fight

against AQAP. US has been launching a series of drone attacks

against AQAP from its base near Dijibouti. In February,2015 USA

had launched more than 2o strikes. According to USA, more than 100

Al – Qaeda members were killed during these strikes. USA has also

deployed its Navy in the waters of Yemen to avoid militant activities.

It has contributed almost $721 million since October 2017. In

February 2019, it had contributed an additional amount of

approximately $24 million. It has been one of the largest donors in

order to get back Yemen into a proper condition.

SSMUN’20 UNGA 10

Role of Iran

Since the beginning of the crisis, Iran has played a very significant

role here. Iran has been supporting the Houthis to fight against the

Saudi led alliance. It has been providing armed equipment and other

materials to the Houthis. Its support had increased in the year 2014

after the military drive by the Houthis and Saleh loyalists. In the year

2013, US navy with the help of Yemeni Navy had seized an Iranian

dhow, the Jihadi. It had approximately 40 tons of armed equipment s

for the Houthis. Iran has also been accused of training the Houthis.

Impact of Intervention

The situation in Yemen has caused military interventions and other

sanctions and blockades which have caused more humanitarian crisis

and have increased the number of Internally displaced persons (IDPs).

this has even caused a greater number of atrocities in the nation and

has even led to the acceleration of the cholera outbreak. the large

number of interventions has led to the increase in the power of the

militant groups and the easy transfer of arms in the nations. The

blockade has reduced the supply of humanitarian aid and other

necessities to the people affected. moreover, the interventions have

divided the country and have worsened the situation in Yemen

increasing the humanitarian crisis, militant organizations and the

poverty levels. nations must now look into the proper functioning of

the blockades, sanctions and interventions.

SSMUN’20 UNGA 11

UPDATE

Children in Yemen are severely affected by this crisis. The country

was not ready to fight with one more crisis where already one existed.

The funding from different organizations and countries have reduced

due to the COVID 19 pandemic. According to UNICEF, over 30,000

children could build life threatening acute malnutrition in upcoming

six months. Total number of malnourished children in under the age

of five could rise up to 2.4 million. Maximum hospitals and health

centres are destroyed due to bombings. Only half of health facilities

are functional. There is a shortage of medicines and other medical

equipment’s. Over 9.5 million children don’t have access to safe

water and hygiene. More than 7 million children cannot go to schools

and about 10 million children don’t have adequate food to eat

SSMUN’20 UNGA 12

Contact the EB

Chairperson of UNGA – Tarushee Agarwal

Director of UNGA – Rahil Shah

Assistant Director of UNGA – Amitosh Chatterjee

Moderator of UNGA – Rishab Madhogaria

For any queries mail the EB at

eb.ssmun.unga@gmail.com

“The future of the Yemeni children lies in your

hands; your actions will determine their safety.”