Macron Urged to Pressure Saudi Prince over Yemen War
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Ten international rights groups called on French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday to pressure Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over his country's bombing campaign in Yemen.
Macron is set to host Prince Mohammed for a three-day trip to France starting Sunday, the latest stop in an international tour by the 32-year-old son of King Salman who is considered the de facto Saudi leader, AFP reported.
A civil war in Yemen, which Saudi Arabia has been bombing since 2015, is considered the world's worse humanitarian crisis by the United Nations with 22.5 million people in need of aid.
"Emmanuel Macron should put Yemen at the centre of his discussions with Mohammed bin Salman as he hosts him in France," said a statement from the rights group including Amnesty International, the International Federation for Human Rights and Human Rights Watch.
They called for "the end of bombing targeting civilians and respect for international humanitarian law" as well as the "unconditional and permanent lifting on restrictions on the delivery of humanitarian aid and commercial goods to Yemen".
In November, Saudi Arabia and its Persian Gulf allies including the United Arab Emirates tightened a pre-existing blockade on Yemeni ports and airports, severely restricting deliveries of food aid and other humanitarian supplies.
The Saudi-led coalition says it has since lifted the restrictions, but a recent visitor to the main port of Hodeida, humanitarian worker Suze van Meegen, described it as a "wasteland" in an interview with AFP in late March.
The UN Security Council warned last month that conditions in Yemen were deteriorating and having a "devastating" impact on civilians.
"As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, it (France) must do its utmost to demand that Saudi Arabia respects its international obligations," the rights groups said.
France is a major arms vendor to Saudi Arabia and separate rights groups have accused the country of doing too little to ensure that its weapons are not used in the Saudi military campaign.
Amnesty International says it has documented dozens of Saudi-led coalition military operations that could amount to war crimes due to the deaths of more than 500 civilians.
