TEHRAN – The president of Iran’s Academy of Medical Sciences on Saturday leveled heavy criticism at the United Nations for its muted response to Saudi-led military strikes on Yemen that continue to kill innocent civilians in the impoverished country.

In his third letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in 15 months, Dr. Alireza Marandi voiced concern at the global body’s failure to prevent the indiscriminate killing of Yemenis by the Saudi-led military campaign, Tasnim reported.

He also branded a recent airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition on a hospital in Yemen as an instance of “war crime”.

Following is the text of Dr. Marandi’s letter to Ban posted on the Tasnim website:
 
His Excellency Ban Ki-moon
Secretary-General of the United Nations
Excellency,
I write again with reference to my previous correspondence with you dated 18 May 2015, and 14 June 2016 concerning the failure of the United Nations to prevent the criminal actions of the Saudi regime in their indiscriminate killing of the oppressed people of Yemen.
Unfortunately, last week we witnessed the bombing of a hospital by the Saudi regime which was again followed by the silence of international human rights organizations. A war crime was committed when this hospital treating sick and injured civilians was struck, killing children, women, men and medical staff, including Doctors Without Borders personnel.
How long will the United Nations close its eyes to these continuing atrocities because of the Saudi regime’s financial clout within the organization you (take the) helm? History will not judge well a United Nations which professes to be the upholder of higher humanitarian standards in the world and yet allows its silence to be purchased. A silence which effectively denies civilians protection from war crimes and recourse to the very structures of justice they are entitled to under UN conventions.
Yours sincerely,
Seyed Alireza Marandi, M.D.
President
Iran’s Academy of Medical Sciences

------- Ban renews call for end to hostilities in Yemen

The UN chief has repeated his call for all sides in the conflict in Yemen to “immediately cease all hostilities,” following a devastating series of raids resulting in numerous civilian deaths and injuries.

In a statement on Wednesday, Ban urged “all parties to the conflict to immediately cease all hostilities and for the Yemeni parties to return to direct talks facilitated by his special envoy for Yemen.” He reminded all parties “of the utmost necessity to protect civilians and to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law.”

Ban condemned a reported airstrike that hit east of Sanaa in Nehm, killing at least nine civilians. 

At least 11 people were killed and 19 others injured in the fatal bombing of the Médecins Sans Frontières (doctors without borders) hospital in Yemen’s Hajjah province last week by Saudi Arabia.

The strike, in which a member of MSF staff was also killed, was the latest in an increasing number of attacks targeting places commonly used by civilians, including hospitals where MSF doctors and nurses work. It followed similar airstrikes on a food factory and a school in Yemen.

Since March 2015, Saudi Arabia and some of its Arab allies have been launching deadly airstrikes against the Houthi (Ansarullah) movement in an attempt to restore power to the fugitive former President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh.

According to media reports, more than 8,000 Yemenis, most of them civilians, have been killed in the Saudi-led aggression so far.
 

SP/PA