With the Arab Spring have come numerous human rights violations against civilians. In Yemen, this violence is no different. This violence is still continuing even though the country signed an agreement to “restore peace and stability.” The government forces are blamed for killing peaceful protesters, as well as children. UNICEF has reported that 138 children have been killed since the start of the violence in March and 568 have been injured. Recently, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights reported that there have been 20 people killed in the city of Taiz. Due to this violence many people do not feel safe in their own homes and are forced to flee when their neighborhoods have been damaged. The High Commissioner, Navi Pillay, asked permission from the government to allow her and her staff access into the country to further investigate the human rights violations.
This story is nothing that we haven’t heard of in regards to the Arab Spring. However, the unfortunate part of the Arab Spring is these injustices against children. Children are granted special protections under International Law. They also have the right to life. A one month old baby was killed December 1st due to the violence in Yemen. The military is trying to prevent further uprising against the government but they are killing civilians in the process. The military is also not allowing the freedom of expression because people are being killed and detained because they are not happy with their government. If the military is going to continue to support the government, it needs to differentiate between threats and innocent people. The government also needs to go through due process and not just kill people who no longer support it.
What should the Yemen government do to ensure that children are protected from this violence?
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=40634&Cr=&Cr1=
I agree with you. The military needs to differentiate between the people that they are trying to target, and innocents. However, this may seem like a difficult task. I also agree with the fact that the government should go through due process, however, due process is a long process, and some may want faster acting justice. There is nothing wrong with being unhappy with the government, as long as the people are not causing others harm. Which may or may not be the case.
ReplyDelete