The Arab Studies Center, affiliated with the European Council of Social Sciences, refuted the allegations of the UN report claiming that the operations of the Arab coalition forces caused civilian casualties in Yemen.
According to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the deputy chair and the secretary-general of the Arab Studies Center, Ahmed Abu Saada and Mahdi Ali, said in a statement responding to the UN report: “We follow with great interest and scrutiny all the new developments in Yemen, and we do our best to contribute to the clarification of the truth and refutation of falsehood. We read recently the UN report, which talked about civilian casualties caused by the operations of the Arab coalition forces in Yemen. There are many points to be discussed regarding the credibility and validity of the report.”
The statement added: “We have the right to question the sources of the report and whether they are reliable enough to accept their story, the methodology used in the collection of information for the report, and whether proper survey methods were followed to reach the facts.”
The statement also questioned the purpose behind the timing of the report, and whether it is really meant to serve the best interests of the Yemeni people and improve their security and humanitarian conditions. The statement added that the UN declined in many situations over the past decades to publish reports about the civilian damages due to military operations at times when it should have done so, which shows the double standard used in different situations.
The statement stressed that the UN should have worked in coordination with the Arab coalition to prevent the armed terrorist militias from harming the civilian population and reveals their attempts to penetrate civilian communities and use them for political ends. “Our vision of the situation is based on stressing the ethical motives of the Arab coalition forces operations in Yemen,” the statement said, “which aim to help the elected legitimate government and prevent the extremist militias from harming neighboring countries.”
The statement also stressed that the UN report should have used a more precise methodology in reporting and documenting the alleged violations committed by the coalition of Arab forces in Yemen, taking into consideration the complex situation in Yemen and the responsibility of the armed militias of a great number of violations, which makes the legitimate government the main source of information and data in this regard.
The publishers of the statement concluded that their main aim is to preserve the integrity and credibility of the UN, and to prevent accusing the victim of committing the crime, because this may have many ramifications on the situation on the ground.